GCSE's, Boyfriends, and the Doctor
by Stitch54
Summary: The TARDIS has caught a cold, and it has reverted back through the Artron energy of the companions. With Martha and Mickey reduced to 7 year olds, what has this cold got in store for Sarah Jane... and the Doctor. Features Doctors 3, 4, 9, and 10.
1. It Begins

**Story:** GCSE's, Boyfriends, and the Doctor

**Author: **Stitch 54

**Timeline:** After Series 3 of SJA and before End of Time in DW. And TW is before Children of Earth, but it won't appear too much.

**Summary:** The TARDIS has caught a cold, and it has reverted back through the Artron energy of the companions. With Martha and Mickey reduced to 7 year olds, what has this cold got in store for Sarah Jane...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Adventures, or Torchwood. The BBC does, sadly.

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**It Begins...**

Sarah Jane Smith sighed as she sank back into her attic sofa. She snuggled down into the imprint she had left from years of sitting in the same place. Her fingers smoothed the soft velvet cover on the cushions as she closed her eyes and fell into a state of peace. It had been one hell of a long week, and there was every chance that the weekend was going to get lousier as the annual migration of the bird like 'Space Foogies' was due to fly through Earth space over the next few weeks. No doubt that one of the young first timers will get cut off from the crowd and cause panic as it lands in the middle of a public area.

Luke, Rani and Clyde were having fun in the attic, testing Mr. Smith and K-9. Or was it the other way around? Their GCSE's were just around the corner, and they were having fun revising using alternate methods. Some of them were alien and they seemed to be working better than the ones they had used in the past. Tonight, they were revising maths in the form of playing chess. If they got the question right, the move they wanted was performed on Mr. Smith's screen, but if they got it wrong, they automatically forfeited the move to the opponent. It was meant to be Rani Verses Clyde, but it sounded as if it had turned into a fight between Mr. Smith and K-9.

In her rare peace, Sarah Jane could feel herself drifting off and the sounds of the children and Mr. Smith working dissipated into the background. This was starting to happen more and more these days, especially since adopting Luke and defending the Earth on a much more regular basis. God help her if she had done this when travelling with the Doctor. One, she would have never survived as you needed to have all your wits when the TARDIS was in full flight, and two, the Doctor would have never let it drop that she had fallen asleep. There would have been photos everywhere and no doubt whatever companion came after her and others after that, would be fed up of the Doctor saying 'don't fall asleep like Sarah'. But these days, she was thankful that she wasn't still with the Doctor as she seemed to need these dowses more often. "Mum?" the sound of her son's voice made her jump.

"Yes, sorry Luke", Sarah said as she sat up and came back to reality, "What's wrong?"

"Rani and Clyde have gone home now. You have been asleep for two hours and they didn't want to wake you", Luke smiled at her as he sat next to her, "I'm going to bed now and I suggest you do too".

"Thanks Luke", Sarah laughed as she realised what she had done, "I've just a few last things to sort out then I'll hit the sack too".

"Night Mum", Luke smiled at her as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Goodnight Luke", Sarah smiled back at him as he shut the door to go down stairs.

"Sarah Jane, if you feel you need to rest, I can finish up for you", Mr. Smith offered as she stood and made her way over to her desk.

"Thanks for the offer Mr. Smith, but I have non-extraterrestrial related work to do. But could you keep an eye on the Foogie migration whilst K-9 helps me with my articles?" Sarah asked as she sat down at her desk, moving pieces of alien clutter out of the way.

"Indeed Sarah Jane. Would you like some music to listen to whilst you work?" the computer replied as he brought up one half of his screen covered in red dots above the Earth, and the other half a music library.

"Yes, CD eighteen please", she smiled as she started up her two work laptops.

Sarah sighed pleasantly as her favourite piece of music started to play. That is if you could call it music. It would be better suited described as her favourite sound; the hum of the TARDIS engines. The Doctor had recorded these for her years ago, whilst she was travelling with him even, him trying to teach her signs of what the TARDIS was saying, hoping that he could eventually teach her how to fly it. The first track was how she heard the TARDIS through her ears, but the rest of them where how it sounded to other species. All of them were beautiful, but her favourite would have to be what it sounded like to the Doctor.

The enhanced Galifrayan recording sounded like angels singing. You could almost hear the years of experience that the TARDIS had and the knowledge it contained. All the different melodies and harmonies within were the TARDIS talking to Sarah, and the more she listened to it, the more she began to understand it. Even with her no longer travelling with the Doctor, she was still connected to him and the TARDIS as it was still able to translate some alien languages for her light-years and millenniums away. The more she listened to the recording, the more words she could pick out. She knew her name through TARDIS talk, and the Doctor's and also some of the readings from when it was recorded.

Halfway through, the Doctor's voice would pour through. He was more connected to the TARDIS than anyone else in the universe, and so his thoughts were recorded onto the track. _I hope you will like this Sarah_, the voice of his fourth regeneration would say every time.

"Is there anything you wish me to do Mistress?" K-9 asked as he rolled up next to her.

"Oh yes", Sarah said as she put one of the laptops down in front of him, "Can you spell and grammar check this please?"

"Certainly Mistress", K-9 replied as he plugged himself into, compared to him, the primitive technology, "Although the clatter that you call music of the TARDIS will affect my systems".

"Oh K-9, I wish that sometimes you were more compatible with other machines", Sarah smiled as she patted her dog.

"Affection noted Mistress", K-9 replied as he wagged his tail up and down.

Sarah sighed as she turned to face the bright screen before her. She had a report due in on Monday about a series of break-ins in the past week. This was one of the few things this week that Sarah had done that was not alien related; along with getting up, cooking, and cleaning. Rani enjoyed the experience of proper journalism for a change. She was so into it that she had no mastered the before un-masterable sound recorder of Sarah's that she used to listen back to her findings. Sarah started to play Rani and her vocal notes back to herself and began typing them into her report.

Soon, the room was full of the sounds of a keyboard being used to its full potential, a metal dog complaining about the TARDIS song, and Rani doing her best to record all of their findings. It was almost as if everything was working together in perfect harmony. Well, it was until an annoying beeping ceased the TARDIS music and Mr. Smith brought up another screen. "Incoming message from Torchwood Three Hub Sarah Jane, shall I answer?" Mr. Smith told Sarah Jane as he brought up a set of new graphics with his saved picture of the Torchwood team doing a ridiculous pose.

"Oh, it would be nice if I said no", Sarah sighed, "But I have to say yes otherwise we will never hear the end of it".

Both Torchwood and UNIT had been in contact with Sarah quite a lot since the Dalek invasion. The latter being normally Martha or Sir Alistair, passing on messages from their scientific advisers, wanting advice on things that they have found, as since their last escapade, Sarah's status within UNIT had risen and you need authorisation to speak to her these days. But Torchwood was completely different. They wanted to compare notes and they had been meeting frequently if they were in the area. Yet, even though the rest of the team and them were on first name terms, Jack still treated her with the utmost respect, and so Sarah returned the compliment. Mainly because all his atempts to flirt with her had failed, so politeness was the only way he could get Sarah Jane on his side. However, the occasional flirt didn't harm.

A new screen popped up on Mr. Smith, and the face of the Captain filled the LED screen. His usual cheeky smile that Sarah got in these calls had been replaced by a face of seriousness. In the background in the hub, Ianto Jones was rushing back and forth carrying trays of tea. "Miss Smith", Jack nodded, even with an obvious distress he kept up his manners.

"Captain", Sarah returned the gesture, "How may I help you this fine evening?That look upon your face tells me this isn't a social call".

"Have you received any contact from the Doctor?" he spat out quickly.

"Not since my failed wedding, no. Why have you?"

"No, but I was hoping you had".

"Jack, why do you need contact with the Doctor?"

"You know our rift covers both space and time. Well, the Time Vortex has just gone through its monthly fluctuation, but this time something odd happened".

"Defy odd Jack, because from what I have seen within the Time Vortex, to describe anything as odd is completely redundant".

"I mean side effects", Jack sighed.

"Side effects, are you sure?" Sarah frowned as she crossed her arms and shifted uncomfortably on her feet, "The only side effects I am aware of it the background Artron energy which is harmless".

"I know, and as far as we know, it hasn't got anything to do with it. I think we can best describe it as a disease".

"A disease? Within the Time Vortex? Tell me Captain, how do you know this?"

Jack didn't say anything. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair and his eyes gazed to somewhere off camera. His eyes began to fill with tears, something Sarah thought would be the last thing the Captain would do in front of her. He sighed and looked back to her, reaching for the camera. "Just take a look at Martha and Mickey", he said as he turned the camera around.

The new image showed Gwen Cooper fast asleep on the Torchwood sofa, and cup of tea precariously held in her sleeping arm. But even though she was asleep, she looked drained. Her face was almost white, and her eyes looked deeply set in her eyes due to black bags bigger than Sarah had ever seen. If her chest wasn't rising slowly up and then back down Sarah could have sworn she was dead. But what was upon her lap was obviously what Jack was indicating towards. Sleeping also in a deep sleep were a little boy and girl, no older than ten. Their clothes were way to big, hanging off basically nothing. The boy's shoes hang on his small feet whilst the heels the girl seemed to have been wearing sat on the floor at the end of the sofa. Their faces seemed almost as drained as Gwen's, but it was a little more believable because of their age. But the horrific thing was though, was whose faces they were. Younger and smaller yes, but they were unmistakably Martha and Mickey. "How the hell" Sarah Jane said shocked as she took a step closer to the screen, "Mr. Smith, run a diagnostic, quickly".

Mr. Smith began to process the image before him. Various pieces of information came upon screen; Martha and Mickey's medical profiles, the recent rift activity, everything. Suddenly, everything stopped with his conclusion. "Confirm, Martha Jones and Mickey Smith aged seven years of age. Other than sleep deprivation and an excitement in the Artron energy, there is nothing wrong with them", Mr. Smith concluded.

"Nothing Mr. Smith, are you sure?" Sarah asked him, her voice an octave higher than normal.

"Yes Sarah Jane. I also have to report there is an increased Artron activity in the whole Torchwood hub", he added, "It suggests a leak in the rift".

"Warning noted. Thank you Mr. Smith", Jack nodded on the other end as he turned the screen back to face him, and "All of our computers don't register anything as being wrong either. Gwen wondered if it was because if the Artron energy does have something to do with all of this, that the change has caused their DNA to revert back".

"I guess that does make sense", she replied as she bit her nail between her two front teeth.

"It is our best theory unless you can come up with something else", but as he said this, Sarah was shaking her head.

"Jack, have you tried phoning the Doctor?" Sarah tried in a last attempt.

"Who do you think I am? That was my first port of call, along with trying Martha's phone. There was no reply", the Captain replied, his face no full of worry and stress.

Sarah took in a deep breath and took her hands to her hips. She looked off at the wall, wondering what they could do next. There must be something seriously wrong if he wasn't answering calls, even Martha's. She thought to the strong TARDIS connection that she had, but sadly her mind wasn't what it used to be and it would take full concentration, which she didn't have right now. They couldn't contact UNIT because they would be way out of their depth, and the Brig was in New York on official business until at least Monday. Sarah took a hand to her head. Right now, she was the one with the most experience, and Jack contacting her showed that. "Captain, I will be there first thing in the morning", Sarah told him, "All I can suggest you do is keep them well hydrated and see if you can stop the Artron energy leak, which will be the best thing to do. I doubt that it will affect non-time travellers, but it could accumulate with Martha and Mickey's and increase the effects on them".

"Yes Sarah Jane. You will report if anything happens on your end. We don't if this will spread out through the rest of us", Jack told her before they signed off for the night.

"Sure Jack. Mr. Smith will stay connected up with you. Feel free to get him to do anything for you", Sarah nodded at him as she flicked a switch on Mr. Smith, "God help you over there".

With a final salute, the Captain signed off. Sarah span around to face her attic. How could this have happened? She had never seen anything like this, and in all her years too. It was so unlike the Doctor to not contact them, and Sarah began to wonder if this had affected him too. She looked at her watch. Nearly midnight. She wouldn't be able to help tomorrow if she were tired. "Sarah Jane, might I ask what you are so worried about. There is nothing wrong", Mr. Smith said as she made her way for the door.

"You don't read that anything is wrong?" Sarah asked him.

"Not at all Sarah Jane", he replied.

She took in a breath and put a hand to her head. "Do as what Torchwood ask you to do. I know you and their computer don't always get on, but please, you have to understand that there is a great need for us to work together", she told the computer, how to explain the situation to a computer that doesn't register anything wrong.

"Yes Sarah Jane. Shall I continue to monitor the Foogies too", Mr. Smith asked as she opened the door.

"No, I want all of your resources focused on helping Torchwood. K-9 can monitor them", she told him as he shut down into energy saving mode, "C'mon K-9, bed".

"Yes Mistress. Preparing to descend stairs", the metal dog said as he wheeled himself out.

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**AN:** Feel free to review. Speculation of what is to come is accepted. Audience participation is too, as it is almost panto time. Where's the Doctor?


	2. 3 Out of 10

**3 out of 10**

Sarah Jane woke to the wonderful smells of a full English breakfast cooing somewhere. She sniffed and rolled over to face her alarm clock. Half past eight, for some reason that seemed too early to get up on at Saturday morning, but she got up earlier than this most weekends. This was a lie in. She must have been tired last night. A quick breakfast, and then down to Cardiff was the plan for today. Should she take the kids, even though it could be very dangerous, more than anything they have ever faced. Yes, she felt in the mood for company today. In fact she felt better today than she had done in years. The lie must have done her good. She looked down at K-9 standing guard at the door. "Morning K-9", she said to him, she never did that before, but he switched on instantly.

"Morning Mistress. Nothing to report, shall I check in with the computer?" he asked as he pushed the door open.

"Yes please K-9. Get Mr. Smith to tell Torchwood that everything is normal and we will be leaving for Cardiff in about an hour", she told the robot dog as she sat and stretched on the edge of her bed.

She watched the dog roll out of her room onto the landing before standing to get dressed. A nice baby blue shirt and black waistcoat she felt was in order for today, along with jeans and her brown leather boots. Perfect. But Sarah knew, in the back of her head, that she shouldn't feel like this. She was too happy for the circumstances and she should be worrying her head off as Martha and Mickey had been reduced to single figures and the Doctor was nowhere to be found.

After drawing the curtains to find a beautiful day outside, Sarah picked up her bag and headed downstairs. She could hear that Luke had the news on, and as she reached the bottom, the sizzling of bacon was unmistakeable. And so was the constant banter of Clyde and Rani arguing over something so feeble that it was almost that they were wasting their breath. At least them being here meant that she had more time to get ready, than spend it getting them here for the day trip to Cardiff.

Sarah set her bag down by the front door and made her way to the kitchen. Rani and Clyde's pre-prepared rucksacks sat in a heap on her armchair in the living room ready for today's adventures. Even before Sarah had reached the kitchen, the question was thrown at her; "What are we doing today?"

"Oh, I was thinking a small trip down to Cardiff to sort out Torchwood", Sarah laughed as she walked into the kitchen archway.

As she came in, three sets of eyes were waiting, happy as ever to see her. But as soon as she was through the threshold of the kitchen, the eyes changed. They did not leave her, but the doorway to the souls within revealed that not all was right. Rani jumped up with a scream, and Clyde froze on the spot, thrusting his buttered knife towards her. Luke on the other hand turned a shade of green Sarah Jane thought she would never see on her son's face, and dropped his plate of scrambled egg and bacon all over the kitchen floor. "What is the matter with you lot?" Sarah demanded as she took a step in.

"Stay back", Clyde shouted as he thrust the knife at her, to which Sarah raised her hands.

"Clyde..." Sarah started in a calm voice.

"How'd you know my name?" he asked as he pulled a face with a mixture of confusion and disgust.

"What kind of question is that?" Sarah scoffed, "It's me, Sarah Jane, or is my makeup that bad this morning that you do not recognise me?"

"You sure?" Rani asked, well squeaked rather as she leant slightly closer.

"Yes", Sarah laughed, she was starting to get really confused.

"What'd you think, alien possession or body swap?" Clyde whispered back to Luke as he leant back slightly.

"Neither I think", Luke looked Sarah over, "Mum is that you?"

"Is this some kind of joke you guys have come up with? If it is, I'm not laughing", Sarah told them as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Mistress, message sent", K-9 said as he entered the room, tail wagging and all, "Mr. Smith recommends that you come straight upstairs".

"K-9, secure the intruder", Clyde told the dog as he thrust the knife again at Sarah, her hands going back up over her head.

"No intruder detected Master Clyde. Mistress, I suggest you visit the computer before departing", K-9 replied as he turned to Sarah.

"Yes I will K-9, but do you know what the kids are up to?" Sarah asked as she bent down to the dog to rub his head.

"I suggest you view your reflection Mistress. You humans always seem to check your appearance when you think something is wrong", the dog told her before heading back into the lounge.

Sarah pulled a face as she stood. Yes perhaps seeing how bad her makeup actually is may enlighten her as to why the kids are behaving in the manner they were. She gave them all a look before heading into the lounge and walked cautiously over to the mirror hanging over her Victorian fireplace. For some reason, she had the same feeling that she did when with the Doctor and they were about to uncover something big. This normally resulted in her being captured or possessed.

But what she found staring back at her made her scream and look away. She rubbed her face and eyes, before slowly opening up her hands for a second look. What she saw was not possible. Gone were the crow's feet at her eyes, and the laughter marks around her mouth. Gone were the aging eyes and dyed hair. In their place was smooth skin, shining thick brown hair and eyes as fresh as the day she was born almost. The face that was staring back at her was one she thought she would only ever see again in the few photos she had. "What the..." she started as she drew her attention to the rest of her body.

Her hands were smooth and slender and her fingers almost danced as she wiggled them. She ran them up and down her arms feeling every inch of the fresh skin. As she felt her lower arm, the bump in the bone that she had from when she broke her arm before going off with the Doctor had disappeared. "This is impossible", she told herself as she continued to check herself over.

"Excuse me, but would care to tell us what the hell is going on?" Rani asked as she took a step towards Sarah.

"Last night Torchwood discovered that there is a virus within the Time Vortex. It caused Mickey and Martha to become seven year olds, and well obviously it has affected me also", Sarah Jane told them as she continued to admire her new age.

"So, who are you?" Clyde asked.

"That Master Clyde is Mistress Sarah aged sixteen Earth years. Are your visual components not working correctly? I could check them for you", K-9 told them as he rolled up next to Clyde.

Rani, Luke and Clyde all exchanged strange looks between each of them, before looking back to Sarah. She had moved onto examining her feet by removing her shoes. She was wiggling her toes, and running her fingers down the sole. She suddenly realised that she was being watched and looked up at the kids with a smile. "Mum?" Luke said cautiously as he strode over to the girl who was supposed to be protector of Earth.

"I know Luke this is odd, but we have it under control", Sarah told him as she stood and walked over to them.

"There is nothing to fear", K-9 added.

"Nothing to fear! Nothing to fear!" Rani shouted at the dog, "One moment Sarah Jane is an adult, and the next she is the same age as us, and you say there is nothing to fear!"

"Rani calm down, there is no need to shout", Sarah said as she stopped Rani from lunging at the machine, "Computers don't register that there is anything wrong bar some increased activity with the Artron energy".

"Hey, if it is do with that stuff, why hasn't anything happened to me?" Clyde asked as he stepped forward.

"Your change might only be slightly as you received a small dose. Mum has built it over the years and she has also had a recent dose if you don't remember", Luke tried to explain; "Also, if something were to happen to you, don't you think it would have happened by now?"

"Suppose you're right Luke me boy", Clyde said as he put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"So what now, is there a cure?" Rani wondered as Sarah began to put her shoes back on.

"We are going to find out now. C'mon", and with that, the sixteen year old Sarah Jane ran out through the doors and up the stairs.

Sarah almost flew up the stairs she was that fast. She had to stop at the top of the first flight to check the others were following, which they were thank God. As soon as she was happy they keeping up, Sarah continued on up to the second floor. She missed every two steps as she flew up the second set of stairs. She was moving so fast that the eyes in the paintings didn't see her pass. She reached the top, and burst through the doors like there was no tomorrow.

Mr. Smith was already open, scanning Torchwood's results and the local area for alien activity like he was programmed to do every morning. If he was human, he would have jumped out of his skin when Sarah burst in. "Mr. Smith, put me in immediate contact with the Captain", she demanded as she jumped down to him.

"Yes Sarah Jane. You sound different today", he replied but Sarah ignored his final comment

"Mum!" Luke called, feeling a little awkward, as he, Rani and Clyde entered the attic.

"Not now Luke", she replied, not even turning to face them, "Just sit and get comfy on the couch".

Mr. Smith's screen opened up to reveal the Captain's face. He looked a little worse for wear. They heard childish screams of joy in the background and what could be seen of Ianto Jones ran past the back of Jack after something. It looked as though they were having fun entertaining two seven year olds. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, but when his attention was brought to Sarah all emotion left his face as if it had turned to stone. "I gather Miss Smith that your earlier report has now become outdated", he said, his eyes still unable to leave her face.

"You have gathered right Captain. What is happening on your end?" Sarah asked as she placed her hands upon her hips.

"Mr. Smith has been a great help. We have found the leak is to do with whatever is going on and it looks as though we cannot close it up, but then it looks like we are absorbing it. Age is not decreasing, but the Artron energy count is building. I have decreased in age by about a century, but can't be sure. Martha and Mickey remember everything, and so do we so our brains haven't really been affected, although Martha and Mickey's behaviour reflects their new ages", Jack replied as he brought up the results up on screen, "And we have received word from the Noble's that Donna has been reduced to a seven year old too, but she is loving it like it is a dream".

"I'm not surprised by that", Sarah laughed, "How are you guys doing? I know sudden parenthood can be quite draining".

"We are shattered", the Captain laughed as he rubbed his forehead, "There seems to be no end in their energy. How are you guys?" he asked looking over Sarah's shoulder at the teens on the sofa.

"We are having trouble believing our eyes", Clyde told Jack.

"And what is she like as a teen?" Jack smiled as he pointed to Sarah whose mouth dropped open.

"She is quite rude as teenager", Rani laughed as Sarah sent her a set of evil eyes.

"And it has been rather entertaining watching you mum get used to this", Luke added.

"Oh has it now? Well, it isn't every day that you regenerate fifty or so years", Sarah smiled at the lot of them as K-9 toddled in, "Well, maybe for the Doctor".

"Still no word from him?" Jack half asked and half stated.

"No", Sarah replied with a sigh.

Jack himself sighed and looked over the top of the screen. Gwen and Ianto had finally got them to quieten down with a game of cards. It wasn't a sight you see every day, a seven year old winning at poker. Jack smiled to himself as he watched Ianto pull out, but Gwen still trying her best to win it all. He looked back to Sarah where all eyes were on him. "What are we going to do?" Jack wondered.

Before Sarah Jane had a chance to answer, she became full of nausea and watched as the Captain almost turned completely green. It was quiet at first, but then suddenly, a ringing in their ears grew with such velocity that it almost deafened Sarah. Martha and Mickey began to scream and the Captain winced on screen as Sarah was reduced to the floor clutching her head. Luke, Rani and Clyde just looked on confused, as did Gwen and Ianto at their screaming friends, with no idea what to do.

Luke and Clyde ran down to Sarah and they picked their 'boss' up as she continued to cry, her face scrunched up into almost a ball. Gwen and Ianto were doing their best on screen to calm down Martha and Mickey, but all their attempts seemed not to get through. Whatever was happening to them, it was completely blocking everything else out. But then it stopped, and the silence was like the calm after a storm. "Increase in temporal flux", Mr. Smith stated as the air in the attic began to move.

"Time Vortex opening", K-9 added as Gwen and Ianto noticed the rift activity increase.

"I know what that means", Rani smiled as she looked up from checking Sarah Jane.

The air in the back of the attic moved developing into an indoor wind as if an invisible force were pushing it out of the way. The wheezing continued, yet there seemed to be a flare of something else thrown into the noise, almost like an old man groaning as he stood. A small light began to flash close to the ceiling of the attic as the cause of this began to materialise before everyone's eyes. Slowly, but surely, a blue police box appeared before them, the materialisation a bit more jumpy than when they had last seen it. Sarah felt her heartbeat increase as she looked on at her symbol of safety and comfort.

The door creaked open, slowly. "You don't mind if I park this here?" a head said as it popped out smiling.

Sarah's eyes could not leave the face that was looking around the attic. It was so long ago that she had seen that face, yet it seemed like almost yesterday. "Who the hell are you?" Clyde asked as he propped up the almost dead weight of Sarah Jane.

Before the man had a chance to answer, a loud explosion came from within the TARDIS, and a ray of what seemed to be light shone through the gaps of the door where the man wasn't standing. Smoke erupted from inside the TARDIS, and the man came out coughing and spluttering, the ends of his hair glowing, and his face covered in soot. He quickly shut the door, and started to pat his hair down, making every attempt for it not to go up in flames. Once he was happy, he brushed down his long brown coat, and what was visible of his blue pinstripe suit. Bending down, he brushed a lump of black soot off from the tip of his burgundy converses, before standing quickly back up straight and looked at everyone in the attic, and in the Torchwood hub with a smile. As he looked around the attic, his face started to turn from glee into worry, and then stopped on the teens. "Luke, where's your mum?" he asked, looking down at the boy from the raised upper part of the attic.

"I'm here", Sarah croaked as she reached out and pushed away from Clyde's support.

Noticing that she was barely able to stand, the man jumped down and caught her from the front before she toppled over onto the floor. He held her in his arms, and adjusted her position so she was standing up straight. Sarah smiled up at him, and as he smiled back, he brushed the hair from her face. "Oh Sarah Jane, what have I got you into this time?" he asked himself as she snuggled herself into his chest, "I'm so sorry".

"Its fine", she croaked back, "But next time you plan on landing a sick TARDIS, flown by a sick Doctor, in my attic, give me a call first".

"Will do, the psychic energy is down to the increase in Artron energy fluctuation, and how did you..." he looked up and over to Jack who smiled back and waved, "Ah, Torchwood, makes sense. But wait a second, 'sick Doctor'?"

She smiled and laughed as best as she could at him. Shaking her head and looking slightly downwards, the man was becoming increasingly confused. When Sarah looked back up to him, he felt her take her whole wait as she shifted her arm to point up at his face. To this, he dropped his arms from his clutch on her and started running his fingers over his face. He felt every small indent and protrusion. When he went onto his hair, he twirled the long bits that formed a sort of fringe in front of his eyes, making him go cross-eyed as he looked at it. Moving back down to his face, he pulled at his skin, twisting it in all sorts of directions before finishing with slaps on his cheeks. He took a step back from Sarah, and gave himself a good looking over in a spin. Standing before them all was a tall, strikingly elegant looking, grey hair man in, what most of them knew as, the Doctor's blue pinstripe suit, coat and shoes. "Oh, that's not fair!" he yelled childishly at the TARDIS which responded by groaning and flashing its light, causing this man to take a step back for his own safety.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Clyde asked, looking over every detail of this man who seemed very friendly with Sarah Jane.

"Number three I think", he responded to Clyde before looking at the teenage Sarah, "Sarah?"

She nodded in agreement, and could not help but smile. Even he could not escape the effects of whatever this disease was. As Jack stared hard at this stranger, things began to click inside his head. One thought lead to another, than to another, until finally, he had cracked the encrypted code within what he had said; number three. "No way", Jack smiled, almost about to burst upon the screen.

Rani, Luke and Clyde pulled faces at each other, as did Gwen and Ianto who were now behind Jack, holding each a very weak Martha and Mickey on their backs respectively. Martha and Mickey, who were just about with it to have heard the conversation, looked hard as they could at this man also. It was almost as if a light had turned on inside Martha's head as she turned quickly to face Mickey with a smile and held up three of her fingers. Then, they both began to laugh. "Hey, you can laugh Martha Jones and Mickey Smith. You looked in the mirror lately?" this man wagged a finger at them both which shut them up.

"Uh, can someone please explain to the not so up to speed human beings please?" Rani asked as she indicated towards her, Luke, Clyde, Gwen and Ianto.

"Oh, c'mon", Sarah laughed, almost back to full strength now, punching the man playfully in the arm, "I think they have waited long enough".

The man smiled at her before taking a step forward. He removed the long brown coat and threw it down onto Sarah's sofa. He cleared his throat, straightened up his jacket, strode effortlessly up the step to be above everyone, and stood tall and proud as he looked down on them like a teacher in school. "I'm the Doctor, mark three", he smiled, and Sarah laughed at his end comment.

"Now I get it", Luke jumped and clicked his fingers as he took a step towards him and stood almost below him, "The cold got you too".

"Luke Smith, I never tire of your genius. I should drop in more often", the Doctor smiled at him and rubbed his head, messing up Luke's hair, "Technically, I'm mark ten in mark three's body, don't get to say that every day. It is the same principal as your mum, Jack, Martha and Mickey".

"So, you are the Doctor we met, but looks like an earlier regeneration?" Clyde said, trying to sort out the facts.

"Exactly Clyde", the Doctor snapped his fingers, "And if you want even more than that, this is what I looked like when I first met Sarah. Minus the suit".

"Is there a cure for this?" Mickey asked from Ianto's back.

"Ah, now that is where my knowledge is scarce", the Doctor replied as he hopped back down next to the others, "See, the explosion within the TARDIS was it changing too seeing as it is the centre of things. All I got from it before it started to go downhill was that these changes are due to the Artron energy bonded with our DNA. As far as I am aware, it hit the TARDIS, sometime after I dropped the Earth back home, but it has taken this long for it to show. Because your Artron energy is specific to this TARDIS, it has spread back through only your Artron energy, causing your DNA to regenerate, and cause this physical change".

"So, I was right", Gwen smiled on her screen as she shifted Martha on her back.

"Yes, everyone who has ever travelled in the TARDIS up until this point is experiencing the changes. You lot more than anyone because you have all just had a recent blast. The rest of my companions will have only experienced minor changes because the residual Artron energy that is left in their DNA is only enough to cause a maximum of a month's age reversal. Martha, Mickey and Donna, I bet she hasn't escaped it, have become so young because of your already young age. Jack, you have changed, but because you are, well, you, you know the answer. And finally, Sarah and I. I live in the TARDIS so you can guess how much Artron energy I have built up, and Sarah has accumulated air miles, and with a recent blast also, she has de-aged further than one would expect".

"So, if I were already younger, I would have been reduced to a single cell", Sarah said looking up at the Doctor's old but new face, feeling happy for once about being middle aged.

"Yup, so enjoy the benefits", the Doctor told her placing a hand on her shoulder, "Because I have gone through regenerations and don't age, I'm going to have personality clashes".

"Ha", Martha laughed from on Gwen's back.

"You won't escape it either Martha Jones", the Doctor grinned which took the smile of the seven years old face, "You, Mickey and Sarah will have to cope with all the behavioural and hormonal issues that come with your newfound youth".

"You still haven't answered my question", Mickey pouted on Ianto's back, crossing his arms and proving the Doctor's final statement to be true.

"Yes, right, well", the Doctor replied, looking around Sarah Jane's attic for some sort of answer.

He began over to the closest desk to him. He looked through every item on the table, throwing them each down or putting them back down carefully, depending on what they were, with frustration. He then moved onto the next desk, and did the same thing, alien or not. Soon he had finished with that desk and ran or rather leapt at full force across Sarah's attic to the other side, nearly falling over K-9, to look at another set of artefacts. He huffed as he dropped the last object the shook the whole table, and looked up to the TARDIS. It was odd for Sarah Jane to see the first Doctor she met behave like this. Never mind his personal personality clashes, how the hell was she going to cope with him behaving in a way that was not normal to what she associated with hsi new old face?

He gave up with looking around Sarah's attic, and headed back up to the TARDIS. With one quick look around it, he stopped in front of its door. He opened the door quickly, and was nearly thrown back by a blast of energy that shut the door again. "What's wrong with the TARDIS?" Luke asked as they watched the Doctor pat down his smoking hair once again.

"It is in a very bad mood with me, and only it knows how long this will all last", he said, giving the box an evil set of eyes as if it could actually see him, "But it won't talk to me psychically and I was looking for a way of talking to it".

"I could talk to the machine Master", K-9 suggested as he rolled forward to the Doctor.

"Ah, no K-9", the Doctor said looking down at the robot dog; "Your history with the TARDIS is just as bad as mine".

"Perhaps I could", Mr. Smith told them all, "I would probably be more compatible as we are both organic and machine".

"Thank you for the offer Mr. Smith, but the TARDIS would be too powerful for you and where would that leave Sarah", the Doctor said, indicating down towards his companion.

"Is there anything here in Cardiff that can help?" Ianto asked over the screen as he shifted Mickey on his back.

"I doubt it. It would be safer if the TARDIS stayed well away from the rift for now. Don't want any more damage done than there already is", he smiled at them, "Also, I would get in trouble".

The TARDIS replied to that with a groan, and the Doctor whacked the side of his head as if trying to get water out of his ears. "You did not want to hear what it just said", he smiled at them as he wiggled his finger in his ear.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Sarah asked him as he continued to scan the attic for any hope of talking to the TARDIS.

"We are a bit more capable than your average teenager", Clyde smiled at the Doctor.

"Um", he said as he put his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes to think, before suddenly removing it with a huge smile on his face, "Yes there is".

For some strange reason, the way he said that made Rani, Luke and Clyde almost gulp. His tone made them worry for their own safety, and couldn't help look over to Sarah who seemed completely oblivious to their worry. It was if she knew nothing bad was going to happen, or that she had become so used to the Doctor's different tones that she could tell what was bad, and what needed time before they could make decisions whether his tone was not good.

In one motion, he bounced down to them, causing the three 'normal' teens to back off slightly. He stood before Sarah, and began to examine every detail of her. He ran is hand quickly down her arm, and then began to pat her like he was a security guard frisking her at an airport. He pulled her forward, and looked down and over her back. Satisfied, he stood her back, and patted her head with a smile and ruffed up her hair. The Doctor bent down to her eye level, which was not at all patronising, and smiled. "Now then Sarah", he said again in the same tone, and his smile seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.

"Yes Doctor, what do you want us to do", the 'us' in that sentence made the other's hearts almost skip a beat.

"I want you to concentrate".

"Oh, that's not-", but before she could finish, his index fingers were on her temples and she was out.

"What did you do?" Luke asked as he ran to his mother's motionless side.

He waved a hand in front of her face. There was no response; she just stood there as if in some sort of trance. Jack stood in Torchwood laughing, along with Martha who was giggling on Gwen's back. They had read the files from UNIT. They had seen the Brigadier's reports on how Sarah was always being possessed by not just the aliens, but by the Doctor himself if he needed to find out things she had seen. "Oh, she is in just a simple hypnotic trance", the Doctor said with a dramatic intake of breath, "Nothing too harmless, she is used to it".

"But why do it?" Clyde asked, "She would be more useful not in a trance".

"Ah, in normal cases yes. But not this time", the Doctor replied as he watched his companion stand there, rocking slowly back and forth as her brain tried to process what had happened, "She has the best adapted brain in this room besides me".

"You would have thought that after all those years though, that she would have built up some defence against you", Jack commented, smug as he smiled and took Martha from a tiring Gwen.

"She can still hear Jack when she is like this. She will get you for that, and younger Sarah is a lot more harder to handle than the Sarah you know", the Doctor warned him, recalling all his past adventures with her and how many times she had fought not only the misguided, but him as well, "Trust me, I know".

"And that won't receive a slap?" Rani said, standing up for her 'boss', almost about ready to throw herself at him and take him down herself for those comments.

"I control it. She will remember only what I let her", the Doctor smiled, before wincing in pain and rubbing his head as he pulled a face, "Maybe not. She has a lot more fight these days".

"Go Sarah Jane", Clyde whooped before he Rani and Luke exchanged high fives.

The Doctor gave them one last look, knowing that he had been defeated, before turning back to Sarah. She was still rocking back and forth, but only slightly, and her mouth twitched as if she were trying to speak. He took a long deep breath, before raising his hands back to her temples, and entering her sub-consciousness.

It wasn't as he remembered from when he last went in Sarah's head. Every person he did this to, he found himself in a completely different place, as they were different people after all. Coming back into Sarah's head though was a lot trickier this time round. In those few small minutes that he had left her in a trance, she had began to build up physic walls, but leave enough untouched to let him in so he could bring her back out. They surrounded him, like a wall of big red and white alternating doors, leaving him enough space to walk down the corridor she had left him. At the end though, was how he knew Sarah's mind to be like; a wide open white space, with a small layer of mist covering the ground. All around him, hanging out of noting, were television screens, replaying events from her life, and the loudest of all of these was the one playing the recent events.

He took his hands to his ears as he continued to walk through to his destination. Past all of these screens, her mind opened out into a large garden sort of area, the mist looming around the base of the bushes and trees. But in the centre of this garden, stood Sarah Jane, protecting the one thing he had told all of his companions to guard with their lives if anyone else ever entered their minds; the physic link to the TARDIS.

They let the TARDIS into their heads to translate, and as a gift in return, the TARDIS left them a way to enter her. But being the primitive apes they were they could only access the fringes of her knowledge and capabilities through their dreams.

The Doctor straightened up his ill fitting suit, and made a mental note to himself to change as soon as he could after this. He looked to Sarah Jane, who stood there, as her teenage self, leaning up against the TARDIS shaking her head, displeased with him. As he got closer to her, he could feel the force of her stopping him from getting any closer. _"Sarah, I need to get at the TARDIS. Please, let me in"_, he told her when the force against him got increasingly stronger.

"_Fine, but I want an apology once we are done", _she told him as she let down the barriers stopping him from proceeding.

He smiled at her as he walked forward. As the door opened, the Doctor came straight out before he was blinded by the heart of the TARDIS. His breath taken away from him when he broke the physic connection, he staggered backwards. When he looked to the others, they seemed to be in a state of awe at what he had just done. He turned back to Sarah, whose face had now become calm, as her head lifted up. Her eyes slowly opened, to reveal them embalmed in some sort of golden light. "Now, tell me what happened", he said slowly to her as he gestured everyone to sit down, knowing that this was going to take a while.

* * *

**AN:** What has the Doctor done to Sarah? Will they ever return back to their original ages? Find out soon.


	3. The Many Complications of a 16 Year Old

**The Many Complications of a 16 Year Old**

_He smiled at her as he walked forward. As the door opened, the Doctor came straight out before he was blinded by the heart of the TARDIS. His breath taken away from him when he broke the psychic connection, he staggered backwards. When he looked to the others, they seemed to be in a state of awe at what he had just done. He turned back to Sarah, whose face had now become calm, as her head lifted up. Her eyes slowly opened, to reveal them embalmed in some sort of golden light. "Now, tell me what happened", he said slowly to her as he gestured everyone to sit down, knowing that this was going to take a while._

"You flew me into it", Sarah Jane replied, but it was evident to the others that it was not her talking, her eyes being the main give away.

"Yeah, I know it is my fault, but exactly what caused this", he asked her, putting his hands in his pockets as he shrugged foolishly.

"Towing Sol Three back into orbit reduced power supply and in turn defences, and microbe was picked up in flight to Sol Three year 1851", the not so Sarah replied, but this time, her voice seemed to be more angelic, like whatever was happening was starting to kick in.

"Doctor, what have you done to her?" Jack asked concerned on screen.

"The TARDIS goes into your head right to translate alien languages, and that I told you to set up mental protection for that particular area of your sub-consciousness? Well the reason behind that is that once the door has been opened one way, it can the other", the Doctor told him, glancing over his shoulder, "Remember the dreams you lot had travelling on the TARDIS?"

"They were pretty", Martha told him as she recalled the dreams she never wished to wake from.

"Well, that was you entering the TARDIS, not that you knew it. I've just opened up Sarah's mind so I can talk to the TARDIS through her", he told them, looking back at the possessed Sarah, with the TARDIS wonderfully placed behind her, "I'll get a lot more sense that way, and the answers will be ten times politer if she has to answer in public".

"What, does the TARDIS swear at you", Clyde sniggered from in-between Luke and Rani.

"Only when it is necessary human", the TARDIS answered through Sarah, making her turn her head to face Clyde.

The Doctor's mouth dropped opened, almost big enough for someone to fall into, whilst the rest of them laughed. Even Sarah managed to get her mouth to smile through the possession. The TARDIS being able to respond to others than just him proved his point that he should never do this again, and that it was a bad idea in the first place. But, he felt half relieved by the fact Sarah had managed to smile, proving that she had strengthened since their last psychic connection, and that reduced the chances of the TARDIS leaving permanent damage; even though he would never let her get away with it, especially since it was Sarah Jane's head that they were messing with. "This companion of yours Doctor, I have missed her company", the TARDIS said through Sarah as she closed her eyes; "We think almost the same about you. Can we stay a while, so I can be humoured by her thoughts on you?"

"We will have to since you can't fly without causing her and the others immense pain", the Doctor said as he pouted slightly, the TARDIS and Sarah ganging up on him, oh joy, "How long will be determined by Artron energy recovery".

"May I remind you whose fault it was in the first place that you have ended up in this predicament?" the TARDIS made Sarah almost glare at him.

"Ooh, burn", Rani smiled as she and Clyde high fived.

"You never know Doc, she could manipulate the facts so you end up staying here longer", Jack added as Gwen and Ianto tried to compose themselves from the teen's outburst.

"Yes, I'm well aware of that fact Jack, thank you very much", the Doctor sarcastically thanked his former companion, "Now, tell me what I need to do so we can get back into the Time Vortex where we belong".

"No need to shout Time Lord", the TARDIS answered, making Sarah cross her arms, "I am a free thinking being and could leave you here if I wanted to".

"No you couldn't because you wouldn't get past the next century without me", the Doctor smiled, leaning forward, thinking that he had one over the TARDIS.

"True, but I could keep you here as long as I wish", Sarah replied, but the Doctor wasn't sure if it was his companion talking, or his time machine.

"No offense to Time Lord and TARDIS, but can we get a move on please as I'm still seven and not getting any older", Martha almost yelled at the two from Jack's lap, she knew it wasn't everyday that you saw the Doctor and the TARDIS arguing, but she was getting bored.

"My apologies Dr. Jones", the TARDIS made Sarah bow her head, "Prediction is that the younger companions will remain for two weeks, the anomaly for six centuries, and you and companion Smith here Doctor will remain a month here on Sol three. Although after that time effects are not fully gone but can be controlled by strong mental thought for an extra month after".

"Thank you", the Doctor bowed to Sarah, then to the TARDIS herself, "May you please release your hold on Sarah Jane now?"

"I'll let go when I want to Time Lord", the TARDIS almost made Sarah growl at him.

But it was more than evident that after that, that she did release Sarah. The glow from her eyes went, almost as it had been sucked out of her, and Sarah's legs began to cripple underneath her. Instinctually, Luke and Clyde jumped up from their seats to catch her, but the Doctor was already there. He, in his old man appearance, managed to pick her up and gestured for the kids to get out of the way. Rani scrambled off the sofa, just in time before the Doctor dropped Sarah. "I forget how old I used to be", he told them as he brushed a drop of sweat off his brow.

"Is she okay?" Ianto asked over Mr. Smith.

"Brain waves are normal", K-9 answered as he gave his mistress a quick scan.

"Hopefully, there won't be any lasting permanent damage", the Doctor said as he bent backwards, stretching out his old back.

"Hopefully!" Luke squeaked as he knelt down to his mother and started to stroke her head.

"More than likely", the Doctor reassured him, the best he could, because you never know with the TARDIS.

"So, are we going to ever be our old selves again?" Martha asked as she and Mickey jumped down from their previous positions to stand for themselves.

"Yes, in two weeks", the Doctor smiled at them, "You guys can be babysitters for two weeks can't you?"

"Oh, we do big bad aliens, not kiddies parties", Gwen told him as she took a step closer.

"And, we are really busy", Ianto added.

"Plus, it has been a while since any of us interacted with children", Jack finished, "And besides, what can we do with them?"

"One, Martha and Mickey aren't children. They are adults in children's bodies", the Doctor corrected them, "And two, put them into a school. I bet you can forge papers and identities, and convince the local head to let them in for two weeks".

"But I don't want to go to school", Mickey pouted, "Again".

"Can't we come and stay with you in the TARDIS?" Martha asked as she perked up with a smile.

"It would be safer if you stay there", the Doctor replied, causing Mickey's already depressed face to be even sadder, and the smile on Martha's face to be wiped off, "But hey listen. You guys can come down on the weekend and I want you two to learn a word of Welsh a day whilst you are there to impress me".

"Just one word?" Mickey asked, like it was nothing.

"Yes, just one. But if you want to be adventurous, you can learn more", the Doctor replied, already noticing Gwen and Ianto in the background high fiving with evil grins on their faces, whilst Jack just held his head in his hands.

"Done", Martha and Mickey said as they ran off grinning into the Torchwood hub, already screaming in their next game.

"Can you guys handle that?" the Doctor asked as there was a crash in the background.

"Yeah", Jack said unenthusiastically, "We will be calling for parenting tips".

"I wouldn't expect any less", and with that Mr. Smith signed off with them, and his regular screen returned.

"Should send a list of activity suggestion to them?" Mr. Smith asked as he began bringing up virtual copies of 'Things to do on Rainy Days' books.

"I think you'd better", Clyde smiled, "You never know, Martha and Mickey could end up blowing up Cardiff".

The Doctor laughed to himself at the thought of that. He shook his head, trying to eradicate the thought from his brain, and looked down to Sarah. The TARDIS had left her in some sort of recovery trance, and he could tell she was dreaming. What of, he knew. She would be in her garden, her dream garden. Where she kept the TARDIS hidden, and spent her days just admiring the ever changing surrounds, depending on how she felt. How did he know? Spying on Sarah Jane's TARDIS dreams were easier than anyone else as her strong bond with the ship made them almost be projected into his head whilst he worked and she slept back in the old days.

He bent down next to Luke and took her hand, rubbing the back of it with his fingers. He could feel her pulse through her skin, beating as rhythmic as it could for a human. To him, the human's pulse always seemed erratic and fast, but then they did have shorter life spans and in contrast to the average Time Lord, much busier lives. But that was no longer relevant as the average Time Lord now only contained the Doctor in its category, and his life was way busier than any humans. Although, in comparison, Sarah's life was much busier than any average human, as she was more than average, she was brilliant in his mind.

Suddenly, she began to stir. Rani and Clyde stood behind the Doctor and Luke and looked down over them. Sarah sighed as she opened his eyes. But as she did, she was confronted by four expecting faces looking down at her, bringing this morning's events straight back to her. She sat up slowly, and looked around her quiet attic. Mr. Smith had closed off communications with Torchwood, and K-9 was sitting ready and waiting for his next command. She smiled at three of the four faces looking at her, and touched her son's arm tenderly as she shifted her position. The she looked to the Doctor, and in one swipe, thumped him on the arm. "I want my apology", she told him in a commanding tone.

"Alright", the Doctor said standing rubbing his arm, "I'm sorry. I should have asked for your permission".

"Good", Sarah said as she swung her legs around and leant forward eagerly and looked to her three teenage counterparts, "What have I missed?"

"The Doctor has invited Cardiff's most destructive seven year olds around for tea next weekend", Rani smiled at Sarah as she sat down next to her.

Sarah Jane laughed at the thought of Mickey and Martha destroying Cardiff, just as the Doctor had done moments ago. She could see the headlines now. She looked to Luke, who seemed pleased that she was awake, and Clyde was just beaming in all the activity going on around him. He was in his element. Then Sarah Jane looked over to the Doctor. He had his thinking face on, which normally meant that he was either about to do something spectacular, or he was about to dump some horrifying news on her. "You okay Doctor?" she asked him, drawing all eyes towards him.

"Hm", he said, like Sarah addressing him brought him out of a trance, "Oh, I was just wondering on what we are going to do now".

As if on cue, Rani's stomach growled next to Sarah Jane. The Clyde' and Luke's, and Sarah's just for good measure. It suddenly hit Sarah that their Full English breakfast lay on her kitchen floor, attracting all manners of creepy crawlies and other things dared not to be thought about. "I think breakfast would be a good first step", Sarah Jane smiled.

* * *

Sarah Jane sighed as she entered her kitchen. Strewn across her kitchen floor was what was supposed to be her breakfast and the other's had most likely gone cold, and Sarah bet that soggy toast wouldn't really appeal to any of them. Rani, Luke and Clyde joined her, and pulled faces at her kitchen. They felt the same as Sarah about their breakfasts, and started to think about what to have next.

The Doctor on the other hand was having the time of his life, looking at everything they passed in Sarah's house. He realised, yes he had been here before, but never went any further than her attic. Sad really when you come to think about it. And if you had said that you had only ever been someone else attic to someone out of the Doctor's close group of friends, it would have sounded completely ridiculous.

The Doctor was fascinated by almost every object that was in his line of sight. He smiled at Sarah's collection of books, and at the ones with her own name as the author. He was captivated by all of her artefacts from her travels across the Earth. And he was stopped dead in his tracks by his reflection in her Victorian mirror. He pulled a face as he felt it, and twisted the little grey bits of hair that sat longer than the rest of his hair.

Suddenly, he noticed that he was all alone, and had been left behind. He span around once, causing his brown coat to spin in the air, and thankfully saw his company standing, with their backs to him, in an archway into another room. He strode on up to them, and pushed his way past into Sarah's kitchen. He gave one quick look around, before looking at his audience. "No offense Sarah Jane, but this a rather messy kitchen", he told her.

"If I didn't know what was going on in your head then Doctor, you would have been so dead", she laughed, having to get used to the polite face being rude, "It isn't always like this".

"Only when we are being invaded by aliens or Sarah Jane walks in with the face of a sixteen year old", Clyde laughed.

"Hey", Sarah complained as she took her hands to her hips, "You clean this mess up whilst I find us a substitute to eggs and bacon".

Clyde knew that he was defeated and followed Luke and Rani over to the sink to get out a dustpan and brush to start cleaning up. Sarah smiled in approval before turning for the fridge. It was pretty empty to say the least, especially since most of its stocks had been used to make the first attempt of breakfast. "Right, we have fruit, juice, some pots of yogurts, and..." she stopped herself when she noticed the wine before she reached up to the cupboard above, "about a bowl full of Cheerios".

"Sounds delicious", Rani commented.

"I'm sorry, but I wasn't expecting for all of this to happen", Sarah Jane said, "We will just have to go out later and stock up. A change of scenery will do us all good".

Sarah reached into the fridge and pulled out all of the apples, pears and bananas, what was left of the orange juice, and the pots of yogurts, that only she ate, and made a mental note not to mention to the Doctor about the wine. She spread them out on the counter before her, and started to think what they could have to eat. "Clyde, you think you could make anything out of this?" Sarah asked as she put a finger to her lips.

Clyde stood, and pulled a face at the set of ingredients. There probably wasn't enough there to even make one meal. He sighed as he walked over to her, and began to inspect each item, as though he was thinking about what he could make. Hopefully his illusion will make them think that he had some sort of idea. "I suggest we each take a piece of fruit, and the Doctor and you have the yogurts. Sound good?" he said, as he turned to face the other two and the Doctor.

"Sarah, you have to have more than that in your cupboards", the Doctor said as he marched over and looked in the one closest to him, "Well, maybe not then".

"Don't you have any food in the TARDIS?" Luke asked as he put away the dustpan and brush.

"I think it would be best to stay out of the TARDIS for now Luke", the Doctor grinned at him, "I'll probably get an earful if we went in there and started demanding her to produce food in her current state".

"Well, I'm having a banana", Rani said as she reached over and took her preferred fruit.

"Pear", Clyde jumped and reached his choice before Luke had anything to say.

"I wanted the apple anyway", Luke smiled as he picked up the perfectly ripe fruit and took a bite from it.

"Well Doctor, do you want strawberry or apricot flavour", Sarah smiled as she held the two pots up.

"Hm", the Doctor looked suspiciously at her, knowing that there was something she wasn't telling him.

He looked towards the fridge, before opening it. Sarah jumped forward to stop him looking in, but it was too late, he had seen it. He reached over her, and very carefully pulled out the bottle. He smiled as he read the label, and the teens couldn't help but laugh at Sarah's face. "Is the sun above the yardarm yet Sarah Jane?" the Doctor smiled as he pulled it out and walked over to her glass cabinet, "Why did you try to hide this from me. You know that this body can smell fine wine over a mile away".

"I had to try", she replied as she shut the fridge door and headed over to the table with her breakfast.

And what a breakfast it was. Rani, Luke and Clyde were conserving every bite of their food, not knowing where their next meals were to come from. Sarah Jane pulled faces at the yogurts she used to like, but her new taste buds disagreed with, and the Doctor sat back in his chair, feet up on table, sipping Sarah Jane's finest wine. As they looked at each other in turn, they couldn't all help but laugh. What would an outsider think if he were to walk in and find this?

"So, what are you two going to do?" Clyde asked the Doctor and Sarah Jane.

"Well, a month stuck on one planet is a very long time for me. I guess I'll have to find something to do with my free time", the Doctor said as he took his feet down and placed the wine back on the table.

"You can help us with the Foogies", Rani smiled.

"That time of year already? Oh well, guess I'll have to" the Doctor smiled.

"But what are you going to do Mum?" Luke asked as he turned to Sarah, still feeling a little awkward calling someone his age that, "It looks rather suspicious that there is a sixteen year old here doing nothing, and your normal self has disappeared".

"Oh, I hear cover story", Clyde smiled, "'Sarah Jane has been kidnapped by the forces that be in the journalism business, and my granddad and I are here looking after the place'".

"That is not actually that bad", the Doctor agreed with Clyde.

"No, we can't use that", Sarah Jane protested.

"Well, the Doctor could pose as your real life brother, and you are his granddaughter", Luke suggested.

"Very good Luke", the Doctor said as he patted the boy on the back, "But, we need more than that. What are Sarah and I going to do all day?"

Sarah did not like that tone. That tone meant something was going to happen to her. Rani, Luke and Clyde all started to think what the Doctor could possibly mean by that. Did he mean they needed more than family relations, or were the family relations good, but the cover story needed to be more solid? Also, what could a man of the Doctor's capabilities, and Sarah Jane's newfound youth do for a month? "You need a job, and Sarah Jane needs to go to school", Rani smiled as she figured it all out.

"Brilliant Rani!" the Doctor said as he stood up suddenly, "_Molto Bene_!"

"What!" Sarah screamed as the Doctor around to the back of her chair, "I am not going to school again".

"Oh yes you are", the Doctor said as he grabbed her by the ear and drag her upwards and into the living room.

The others smiled as they got up and followed them to Sarah Jane's desk. On his way, the Doctor grabbed another chair, and took it with him and Sarah over to the desk, where he sat her down and released. She rubbed her ear as she watched the Doctor sit himself down next to her and pull out his sonic screwdriver. He pointed it at her laptop and it came to life bringing up the Park Vale Comprehensive School website. "Now then Sarah Jane, we are going to get you enrolled for Monday morning", the Doctor said as he soniced the laptop again and brought up a special enrolment form.

"I can see it now", Clyde said as he looked up a raised his hands, "Sarah Jane Smith, sitting GCSE's".

"Not funny Clyde", Sarah told him, "Doctor, I've already done my O levels, can't I just stay home with you?"

"No", the Doctor said as he started to type in Sarah Jane's details, "Hey Clyde, remind me to check the lottery tonight yeah",

"Oh no", Sarah Jane said ominously.

"'Oh no' what?" Rani asked as she leant forward slightly.

"Which Physics teacher do you think deserves a double rollover the most?" the Doctor smiled up at her as he opened up another tab, "Oh look, there just happens to be an opening in the Physics department in Park Vale for a teacher qualified in GCSE Physics to teach a class for the remainder of the year until a permanent teacher can be found".

"You are going to teach us Physics?" Luke asked, getting excited by the prospect of the most qualified alien ever to teach them Physics.

"Oh yeah", the Doctor grinned at him, "and look, they want them specialised in the 'Astronomical' section of the course as well".

"Even better", Sarah mumbled to herself as she rested her head in her hands.

"Oh, c'mon Sarah Jane, it'll be fun!" the Doctor grinned at her as he finished his application, before pointing his sonic screwdriver at the computer, "Just got to make sure that these get to the front of the queue".

The computer finished with a box popping up from the school saying 'Thank You for your application'. The Doctor sat back in his chair smiling at his work, nudging a rather gloomy Sarah. The last thing she wanted was to go through secondary school, again. It was hard enough the first time around, but a second time? Only time would tell.

Suddenly there was a knock at the front door. All of the teens, including Sarah straightened up, whilst the Doctor looked around the room curiously. Soon there was more frantic knocking and the doorbell rang. "Sarah, are you still there? Rani left her phone in the kitchen", Gita Chandra's voice came through the letter box.

"Coming Mum!" Rani shouted as she rushed forward to the door of the living room.

"She can't see us", Sarah said frantically as she started to look for somewhere to hide.

"Why? If we are going to be here for a month, we may as well introduce ourselves", the Doctor told his companion as he stood and strode over to Rani, hands in pockets, "C'mon Rani, I think your mum is one I don't actually mind meeting".

He and Rani walked out into the hall, leaving the boys and Sarah in the room. Clyde and Luke exchanged amused glances before looking down to Sarah hidden behind her desk. She sighed and stood up in defeat. She slumped out of the room to stand by the Doctor as Rani opened up the door. "Hi Mum", she smiled.

"Gosh, you took your time there", Gita smiled as she stepped in, "Are you up to something I should know about?"

"No, not at all", Rani smiled at her mother, who looked over her daughter's shoulder.

"Oh hello", Gita smiled at Sarah Jane and the Doctor, "I'm Gita, Rani's mum, and you are?"

The Doctor took a step forward smiling and extending his arm out to her, "Dr. John Smith. I'm Sarah Jane's older brother".

"Oh, nice to meet you, she never mentioned she had a brother", Gita smiled as she enthusiastically shook his hand.

"And this is my granddaughter, also a Sarah Jane", the Doctor told her as he gestured towards Sarah who was standing well back.

Gita waved at her, and Sarah just smiled back. "Are you down for a family reunion or something?" Gita asked the Doctor.

"You could say we have popped out of nowhere", Sarah commented from the background.

"Are there many more of you?" Gita smiled.

"Oh yes. We will fill the house", the Doctor replied, lying but at the same time wishing that he could be part of Sarah's extended family.

"Oh", Gita's mood diminished, "Haresh is already stressed with that Physics teacher leaving, and now we can't go on that trip of ours next weekend".

"Why not?" the Doctor asked.

"Rani was supposed to be staying here", Sarah said stepping forward, "With Great Aunt Sarah Jane".

"Yes, where is Sarah?" Gita asked as she looked around.

"She's gone down the shops as the cupboards are empty", Luke answered, making Clyde and Rani smile.

"Oh okay. Tell her I'll come and speak to her later", Gita smiled as she turned to leave.

"Mrs. Chandra", the Doctor called after her, "There is plenty of room here, and I have brought my, uh, caravan, so I guess Rani is still welcome".

"Are you sure?" Gita asked.

"Mum, Sarah Jane's family are cool. I really don't mind. If push comes to shove, Luke, Clyde, younger Sarah Jane and I can have a sleepover in our house", Rani smiled at her mother, "Promise we won't break anything".

"Hmm, I'll think about it miss", Gita replied as she gave Rani a hug.

"Oh, and tell Mr. Chandra I might be coming over soon to talk about that teaching position", the Doctor added as she continued up the drive.

"Oh, you know what? Today is getting better and better", Gita almost skipped along the end of Sarah Jane's driveway past her car.

They all watched her cross the road, making sure she was safe before they continued their conversation. Rani shut the door and turned back around to face the rest of them. The Doctor had a grin almost covering the whole of his face, and Sarah Jane's mood seemed to have brightened up a bit. Suddenly, they all burst out into laughter as they walked almost as if they were drunk on happiness back into the front room. "So, now what are we going to do?" Luke wondered as he collapsed back into the sofa, still smiling.

"I think I should do as what Gita thinks I am doing and go to the shop to stock up", Sarah Jane told them, "Anyone fancy coming with me?"

"I think it would be best if I stayed here", the Doctor smiled, "I have to go and see your new head, and I have a plan in my head that may make things run a bit smoother for us".

"How?" Clyde questioned.

The Doctor tapped his nose and looked mischievously over at Clyde, "All in good time".

"Okay then", Sarah said as she stood up quickly, "Grab some plastic bags you three, we are going down the shop".

Rani, Clyde and Luke headed for under Sarah Jane's stairs to find her bags for life. It was hard to believe that you could find anything in there at all. Whilst the teens delved into the never ending depths of under the stairs, the Doctor went to Sarah's computer to print off their application forms, and Sarah Jane headed for the front door and grabbed her car keys.

The three teens came out with dishevelled hair but they didn't seem fazed by Sarah Jane's closet as they each had come out with three bags each. With two pieces of newly printed off paper the Doctor darted into the hallway and started up the stairs, but stood to a stop for some reason halfway up. He turned around on his heels and smiled down at them, even though they were heading out of the door. "Ahem", he said before they left the premises.

"Yes Doctor?" Sarah replied as she looked up at him, "Please don't break anything".

"I wouldn't dare", he smiled at her, "But Sarah Jane, how old are you".

She looked up at him shocked, ready to almost hit him, "You know the answer, and if you don't you can work that out for yourself".

"No, I know how old you are Sarah Jane. Who do you think I am?" he grinned down at her playfully, "I mean, how old do you look?"

Sara Jane looked down at herself, and then realised what he meant. She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out, so she snapped it shut and smiled back up at him. She threw her car keys down onto the phone table, and quickly exited out of embarrassment, hiding her face in shame from the Doctor.

* * *

**AN:** Hello to my readers. Please read this as you need to know this. I am happy for you to review, just because I haven't asked for it doesn't mean that you don't have to. I don't mind if you hate it or love it, and I am not one to normally plead and bribe, but it would be nice to know what you make of it. Thank you for reading, Stitch54.


	4. Owls and Jelly Babies

**Owls and Jelly Babies**

Clyde slumped down in the sofa next to Sarah Jane. She had her knees up to her chest and she hugged them as if the world was ending. She rocked back and forth slightly, sometimes making the slightest of noises, like a dog pining. Her eyes looked far across the living room and out into the garden. All of this was probably taking its toll on her now, since this was probably the first time she had had since it began to sit down and think, and it had accumulated to such a point it has all come out in one go. _Who could blame her?_, Clyde thought to himself as he looked at her. For starters, she had to put up with becoming a sixteen year old again, and then basically the Doctor invited himself to stay with her which brought up a whole different set of emotions. Clyde knew the basics of their history, but knew it was up to Sarah Jane where and when she told them more.

Oh, and don't forget she had the TARDIS invade her brain, and Clyde guessed that it hadn't really let go of her completely. She still had sort of the same glow in her eyes, and as he sat down next her, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and Goosebumps ran down his arms. And then, to top it all off, their little venture down to the local Spar turned out to be more of an expedition of sorts.

First, when Sarah Jane came back out of the house after the Doctor had called her back in, they remembered that none of them were actually old enough to drive her car, and the Doctor wasn't coming with them. He had his 'plan' and was schmoozing with Rani's dad so he and Sarah Jane were more likely to get into the school, like he needed to do that. They had predicted on their walk to the shops that he had gone to Mr. Smith and gotten him to infiltrate the system to make sure, even though he had soniced Sarah's laptop. Also, Sarah Jane threw in for good measure he would have created them identities, and sorted out the cover story. When they got back, they found that he had done all of that and more.

When they eventually got to the Spar, Sarah Jane had to take cash out as it would look seriously suspicious if a teenager turned up with a credit card. Once that was done, the fun began. They all knew that they had to get proper food, Sarah Jane especially since she was, technically, the oldest even if she actually looked the youngest. Well, that was the plan anyway. But as soon as Sarah Jane's new teenage eyes looked upon the sweets and chocolate, her brain with all of its new hormones was overwhelmed, and she seemed to take a handful of each. It almost fell upon to Clyde that he would have to become the responsible one and make sure that they bought all of the veg they needed. Thankfully, he had his lovely assistants Luke and Rani to do that, and they left Sarah Jane in the confectionary isle. Whilst the other two got the basics, Clyde snuck off to find the ingredients to his next cooking experiment; bacon, chicken and cheese pasta bake.

The woman behind the counter pulled a sort of confused face when the four of them came to the till. For one, they had more food than the average person would buy from the small corner shop. A good percentage of that food would be what one would find in every kitchen, but then Sarah had brought over enough sweets to sink a battle ship. There were all sorts in there; chocolate, jelly sweets, fudge, mints. But, the majority of the confectionary they were buying was packets upon packets of Jelly Babies. Luke, Clyde and Rani just dismissed this at first as Sarah Jane's brain gone into overload.

But when they dumped their collection of food onto the kitchen table, the rustling of packets must have been a calling to the Doctor as he seemed to appear from nowhere. Then, they found out the real reason behind why there were so many Jelly Babies in their carrier bags. And, to be honest, the real reason why Sarah had made them buy so much was quite sweet. The Doctor's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he saw Clyde take out packet after pack of the jelly sweets from the one whole carrier bag they filled. "Aw Sarah", he said as he almost suffocated her small stature in a hug, "Thank you".

And with that, the Doctor started filling up his 'bigger on the inside' pockets of his long brown trench coat and blue suit. Sarah Jane could only smile at the others as they watched the grey haired alien walk back to what he was doing wherever he was doing it with a skip in his step. That was the last time Sarah Jane had socialised with them that morning, and she spent the whole of lunch in the same place on the couch.

After lunch, the Doctor had brought down what they all thought was a load of junk and spread it out across Sarah Jane's kitchen table. Just to show how out of it the new teenager was, when Luke had tried to build one of his experiments on the kitchen table, Sarah Jane had almost flipped. But now, she just let the Doctor get on with it. He told them it was to do with his plan, and all he would let on to what it was that 'it is going to make Sarah Jane's house like the TARDIS'. Whatever that meant. And with that, and K-9's help from underneath the table, he started his plan.

Luke was obviously fascinated by the Doctor's every and any movement, and Rani was doing her best to understand it all. Clyde had given up only just now, and he could feel Rani was almost about to, but he knew that she wouldn't leave those two on their own. For one, she was better company for the Doctor and from what Sarah Jane had told them, he liked to have someone ask him questions than know all about what he was doing. And two, unsupervised, geniuses tend to end up blowing something up, even without a robotic dog's help.

"So", Clyde started with a smile as he sank back into the sofa, dragging the word out for emphasis, "Busy day huh?"

Sarah nodded her head and hummed in agreement, still looking out of the window as if he was not there. As she shifted slightly from sitting in one place for too long, Clyde noticed that she was hugging something else besides her knees. Of what he could see, it looked like a stuffed toy owl, the fabric thinning in places from age and had that generally well used feeling about it.

There was a loud bang from the kitchen that made them all jump. Clyde sat to attention, whilst Sarah Jane finally removed her eyes from out of the window and took them to look at the kitchen arch instead. Smoke began to pour out, followed by coughing and what Clyde guessed as alien swearing from the Doctor. "We are all okay", Rani shouted in laughing, "It only blew up in the Doctor's face".

Clyde couldn't help but laugh at the Doctor's failure, and as he looked over to Sarah Jane as the Doctor's alien swearing continued, he could tell by her face that she understood what he was saying. Either it was from years of experience being with the Doctor, or the TARDIS still being in her head was translating things even the Doctor didn't want any of them to understand. She was definitely confused by being able to understand it, and looked almost disgusted by it, so Clyde guessed the latter was more probable. But soon, her face returned to its previous gloomy looking state and her focus returned to the noting that was going on outside.

"C'mon Sarah Jane", Clyde said as he gave he a playful nudge, "Isn't this fun?"

She nodded her head and hummed in approval again, as she continued to stare out of the window. "I'm sorry I'm being like this Clyde. There are just a lot of things running through my head at the moment", she sighed, the first thing she had probably said since they had given the Jelly Babies to the Doctor, "Guess it is the new hormones, got to get used to having them again".

"Suppose", Clyde agreed with her, teenage girls were the strangest aliens after all, "You want to watch a bit of telly?"

"I don't particularly feel like doing anything", Sarah Jane told him, looking at him in the face for the first time since he had sat down next to her, "Even if it requires no brain power".

Clyde chuckled and Sarah smiled. Clyde loved Sarah's smile, as did the rest of them, and especially the Doctor Clyde thought. No, he didn't think it, he knew it. It was the way the Doctor looked at her when she smiled. Before this, her smile was encouraging and reassuring, just like any mother's should be, and Clyde bet it had been like that even before Luke, but nobody ever saw it here on Bannerman road. But now, it still remained those properties, but the youthfulness gave it extra warmth and almost invited you to smile along with her.

She shifted again, and let her knees drop, almost as if the smiling had relaxed her, even though she still hugged the poor owl almost to death. The ruminant TARDIS glow seemed to escalate for just a moment, and Clyde would bet anything on that small connection he thought was still there had something to do with her new lightened mood. The time machine obviously like her, and no doubt didn't like one of the few humans able to give the Doctor an earful being down in the dumps over some pathetic teenage hormone issues.

"Hey, so what's with the wise old owl?" Clyde asked as he pointed to the poor creature, suffocating under Sarah Jane's hug as Clyde looked for another way to start conversation with his friend again.

"I don't know myself really", she replied, opening up more as she put more tone into her voice, "I guess it is a coping mechanism that I have had since I was a child. Whenever I felt sad or needed to think something over, I used to hug my owl. It was well used upon the TARDIS I'll tell you that now".

"That owl has gone and seen more than I ever will", Clyde laughed, making Sarah Jane smile again.

She looked down at the precious object in her hands. One of the last few things she still had from her childhood, from her parents. Clyde was right, the owl had been further and seen more with its old fifties plastic eyes. She smiled as she stroked her fingers over the thinning fabric, remembering all the adventures she had had with it. Not just the adventures in her aunt Lavinia's almighty back garden, but the ones it had been on inside the TARDIS and on other planets too.

The most prominent in her mind was that of the time when she had had trouble sleeping after a very ruff adventure. Sarah Jane had relocated herself to the TARDIS console room after finding her room a little uncomforting, and was so hoping the Doctor to be in there tinkering away and able to comfort her. As it turned out, that night was one of the few he had ever actually slept, as he was nowhere to be found in the commune parts of the TARDIS.

She gave up looking for him and sat on the floor and leant up against the old console, clutching her dear owl as she did. Soon, she had found herself surrounded by what she thought as a lullaby, and began to fall finally to sleep, proving to her today that even then the TARDIS had a good connection with her.

Although, when Sarah woke the next morning, her dear little owl had disappeared, and there was evidence that the doctor had found her as she had been moved onto a lounger that had appeared out of thin air in the console room, and was wrapped up in the softest blanket ever. Worried about where her owl had gotten to, Sarah found herself frantically looking around the TARDIS, until she found it sat alone on one of the few empty bookshelves in the library.

With relief washing over her, she went to pick it up, but what she found behind it made her scream. At first, she thought it was a big hairy monster, but as she looked closer, she found it was the Doctor with his chin resting on the wooden shelf. The wild blue eyes of his fourth incarnation kept staring at the same place, where the owl had been moments ago. He had a puzzled look upon his face, but continued to stare like he was still looking at the owl. "What is it with humans and stuffed toy animals?" he asked her as he finally snapped out of it and adjusted his gaze to look at Sarah, "In real life it would have scratched your eyes out by now".

Those statements would bring it back down to Earth for Sarah that the Doctor was in fact an alien. Oh, and then there was the time he almost cooked it. Apparently he was trying to teach her a lesson about being clean on the TARDIS, and keeping her quarters presentable. She later found out that he was the biggest hypocrite on the TARDIS ever as her room was spotless compared to his. Still, if she had been moments too late, her precious owl would have ended up in the pot of boiling soup that they were to have for their tea.

She heard the Doctor take a deep dramatic breath, making it whistle through his teeth in the kitchen, and then adding, "So close too".

"Doctor, you weren't close to anything", Luke commented.

"You're just eating Jelly Babies", Rani added, "Are you doing an experiment with them in your mouth?"

Sarah Jane sprang up from her seat, making Clyde physically jump vertically. She wouldn't have been surprised if he was doing an experiment with the sweets, but she knew him better than that. She looked shocked to say the least, and marched into the kitchen. She knew that comment was directed at her, not the bit of junk the Doctor was working on, or the Jelly Babies. As she entered, she glared at him, and put her hands upon her hips, the owl being held in-between her fingers. "Who gave you permission to go into my head?" she asked in a demanding tone, that seemed wrong coming from someone that looked so young.

The Doctor looked up at her with a smile, a glint of innocence in his eyes, whilst Rani and Luke turned around only to be confronted by the 'face of doom' as they liked to call it. For some reason, whenever Sarah Jane used this face, even if it was about something not too big, or directed at them, they felt guilty. It was the same feeling as if you walk into a police station, you instantly feel guilty, even though you have done nothing wrong. And Sarah Jane's new reduced age seemed not to affect the effect upon them as they squirmed down in their seats.

As the Doctor looked up at Sarah Jane with his new old eyes, she could feel the answer coming to her. She dropped her arms and flailed the one holding the owl as she sighed in defeat. "Who the hell am I kidding? My head is always open to you", she smiled to the Doctor and added "Always has and always will be".

"Good to know that", he smiled back at her, "You know you should really put up some mental blocks, permanent ones".

"Well, when you teach me how to do that, then I will", she replied looking at him mischievously, but he looked away before he could give her an answer as his attentions were drawn to something else.

Whatever he was making on her 'used to be' lovely clean polished kitchen table, had now started beeping, and glowing a strange red colour from the centre of the cluster of machinery. The device, if it deserved to be called by that name, didn't really resemble anything that Sarah Jane could compare to on Earth. There were a number of things. To her, it looked like a cross between a solid metal Frisbee, wire-wool, an LED light show, and a small table. "Rani, pass me that Oucester wrench if you please", the Doctor said as he picked up the thing and gestured to the poor girl to place it straight into his hand.

"What, this one?" she asked as she held up something that looked like a cross between a juice glass and a piece of driftwood.

"Yeah", the Doctor replied as he looked up from his creation and took it from her, and started to work at it before saying, "Anyone going to ask what it is I am doing?"

"Why?" Clyde wondered as he leant back slightly and crossed his arms, "You are obviously busy and not finished".

"Gosh, hasn't Sarah taught you a thing", he asked shocked, his voice going all high pitched, "It is companion rule number one to ask the Doctor irrelevant questions that he has explained the answer to at least three other people before them. Right after not listening to him when he says 'don't wander off'".

"Fine, it wouldn't feel right if they asked it", Sarah Jane smiled as she sat down next to the alien eagerly, placing her owl on the surface in front of her and gestured for Clyde to join the other three on the other side of the table, "What are you doing? Or would you rather what's that?"

"We-ell", the Doctor started, dragging the word out longer than normal, but before he could continue, all emotion left his face as he stared at Sarah.

"Mum", Luke added as he tensed up on the other side of the table, looking almost ready to leap over to her.

"What? What's the matter with me now?" she asked them as she frantically looked around them and then started to feel her face in case something else had changed.

She patted her arms down, stroked her face, and finally looked at her hands. They were glowing a bright gold light, and the rest of them recognised it as the same glow from when the TARDIS took over Sarah earlier in the attic. Suddenly, Sarah Jane took one of her glowing hands to her head as she became awash with a wave of nausea. "Oh, that doesn't feel good", she said as the entire colour from her face disappeared.

"Sarah Jane", Rani cried as her eyes shut, and Sarah fell lifelessly into the Doctor's arms.

"Sarah! Sarah can you hear me", the Doctor asked as he tried to get any sort of response from her.

"Doctor", Luke started ominously, "Your glowing too".

The Doctor raised the easiest hand he could without letting go of Sarah Jane and letting her fall to the floor. Rani, Clyde and Luke were on their feet, waiting for instructions from the Doctor as he examined his now glowing hand. There was no emotion in the Doctor's face as he put his hand back to supporting Sarah, and went back to concentrating on her safety. "Increase in Artron energy Doctor Master", K-9 blurted out from underneath the table as the intensity of the glow increased.

"Bit late for that", the Doctor called over a sort of humming that seemed to be coming from the glow, "You lot get down!"

The three teens didn't need to be told twice as they ducked under the table next to K-9 just before they were all blinded by the light being emitted from Sarah Jane and the Doctor. They watched as the Doctor braced himself, his red converse flat to the ground as he spread them out for maximum balance. Whatever was happening, was obviously taking him by surprise. They couldn't tell if he was crying out in pain at all as the sound of the humming escalated to such a point that their hands were over their ears.

Suddenly, the glow ceased as it seemed to diffuse in the air around them, waves passing the teens by like little puffs of smoke. They danced around under the table legs and out through the window like they were alive. Subconsciously, the three teens began to remove their hands from their ears. As they looked over to the Doctor, they could hear him taken deep breaths, breathing heavily, not moving from where he sat. Of what they could see of Sarah Jane, she was as lifeless as they had last seen her. "You okay up there Doctor?" Rani braved to ask as she leant forward slightly.

This seemed to trigger something in the Doctor as he let out one large breath, and moved his feet. They watched what they could see as he sat Sarah Jane back on the chair slowly. He was mumbling something to himself as he seemed to check himself over. They watched as he moved Sarah Jane again back towards him. "All safe, up you come", a deep voice called, not either of the Doctor's voices they were used to at all.

Gingerly, they crawled out, and in unison, all peered over the top of the table to see what had happened. There, clutching a head of thick brown hair to his chest, running large fingers through it tenderly, was a wild blue eyed and curly haired gentleman in exactly the same place they had left the Doctor moments ago, also, in exactly the same outfit. He grinned a thousand watt smile at them as they stood speechless. "Doctor?" Luke dared to ask, breaking the eerie silence as he did.

"Yes, now then Luke-y boy. Can you tell me, as well you mother", he looked down at Sarah and shrugged, unable to come with a suitable answer, "is well, let's say incapable of answering at this point. Can you tell me, what I look like?"

"Curly brown hair", Luke replied as he demonstrated the mass sitting upon this man's head with his hands.

"Big blue eyes", Rani continued.

"And a set of cracking teeth", Clyde finished, smiling his off.

"Body number four", the Doctor smiled like he was announcing a number in bingo, as he sat Sarah Jane up.

This movement of being jigged upright by the Doctor seemed to bring her round slightly as she groaned. The Doctor brushed the hair off her face tenderly and ran a finger along her chin to the tip where he moved her head slightly to have a good thorough look at her. She too had changed. Her hair seemed o have grown by a considerable amount so it was now about halfway down her back, some of it in smooth ringlets. Her features had also developed giving her a more mature look, although at first guess, the teens thought she didn't look much older than before. She took a slow and steady hand to her head and moaned as she rubbed her eyes. "Bloody TARDIS", were her first words, but they were more of a whisper.

"What did you say Sarah?" the Doctor asked, not out of shock, just because he didn't hear her in his frantic checking over of her.

"Oh would you stop that", she snapped as she slapped his hand away from her chin as she continued to rub her eyes.

"Stop what?" the Doctor asked, this time shocked, "Now what is it did you say?"

"I said. Bloody. TARDIS", she told him like he was some child who could only register one sentence at a time, "You let her get into my head, and I guess that is what caused this".

"No, you let her get into your head", the Doctor replied, "I told you that you should've put up those blocks. She likes you too much to let go. Good thing too because if she hadn't knocked you out when she did, you would have experienced all the pain I did".

"Oh great", Sarah Jane sighed sarcastically, "At least that is a positive thing about having an alien time machine in your head".

That is when she decided to open her eyes after one last rub at them. As the initial blinding by the midday light subsided, her sight focused on the three shapes standing opposite. As the image became clearer as her brain started to register more details, she concluded that the three forms before her were that of Luke, Clyde and Rani, all standing in a row on the opposite side of the table. But, their faces let onto more than she hoped they had. They seemed to be in a state of shock, and then Sarah Jane turned to the Doctor.

"It's you", she squeaked as she jumped back from him, a wave of mixed emotions crossing her mind as she took in his new features.

"Could say the same thing to you", he replied with one of his classic smiles as he stood from the table.

Sarah took her hands immediately to her face, found her longer hair, and then in one swift movement, went to her right arm. Her left hand ran over her radius and ulna carefully and, yup, there it was. The bump in her arm from her break after falling from a tree investigating, and it wasn't the last time she fell from a tree for a matter of fact. "I've changed", she stated.

"Well duh", Rani smiled as she sat back down, her energy levels a little depleted after the burst of adrenaline, and began waiting for the next magic trick eagerly.

"To well I would say", the Doctor started as he sucked in the air through his teeth and stood back to get a good look at her, "about when, or just before you travelled with me".

"I have met you", Sarah Jane told him as she pointed to her arm, "And I'd say judging by my hair, it more around the time you left me in Aberdeen. So I'm guessing oh, err, twentyfivish?"

"To be precise mistress, you are twenty-five Earth years, two Earth months, an Earth week, and two Earth days", K-9 corrected her from under the table, "Would you like me to give the exact hour and minute also?"

"No thank you K-9, but the precision is well appreciated", she replied as she gave him a pat, and sighed, "Twenty-five".

"Serious?" Clyde asked, also hoping for more tricks.

"Oh yes Clyde", the Doctor replied with a smile, "Even Sarah Jane here was once twenty-five".

That received what looked like at first a playful punch in the arm from Sarah Jane for the Doctor. But then they saw the expression on her face. "Oy, watch it you", she told him sternly, "That face of yours has a lot to answer for in my books".

"Wonderful, and we will have a lot of time for you to take your furry out on me", he smiled back at her, "But the question is, why another change?"

"Perhaps we could go and ask the TARDIS", Luke suggested, "She did seem to anticipate what happened to you to some extent as she protected mum".

"Oh no", Sarah Jane said out straight, but alas, she was ignored by this new old face of the Doctor's yet again.

"Excellent idea Luke", the Doctor said as leapt forward a step, "She should be in a better mood by now, as long as Sarah didn't offend her. Plus it will give me a chance to change into something more fitting and put m plan into action. Allons-y!"

In one swipe of his long arms, he collected up most of the 'junk' and his device. Rani Luke and Clyde picked up what was left and the tools and quickly followed the Doctor out of the kitchen as he was already gone and heading up the stairs. Sarah Jane was left with K-9 who rolled out from under the table. "I suggest you engage running mode mistress", he told her.

"Suppose I better had", she replied as she bent down and picked K-9 up by his handles, "C'mon you".

"Assistance in transportation much appreciated mistress", he replied as she walked out of the kitchen, his wagging tail rubbing against Sarah Jane's arm.

"Yeah yeah", Sarah finished in a huff as she pushed open the living room door with her back.

* * *

**AN:** Thank you all for the reviews, finally. Sorry, I have been on holiday the past week, and this was almost ready to upload before, but it still needed some last few tweaks. I have half of the next chapter already written down on paper from on holiday, and now just require to be typed up. I also have another story in mind, and might have to write it down before it leaves my brain. It probably won't appear on fanfiction for a while as I have already committed myself to too many fics. Thanks again, Stitch54.


	5. Harry Potter and the TARDIS

**Harry Potter and the TARDIS**

As the Doctor entered the attic, carrying every bit of junk he could along with his mysterious device, he almost didn't notice Mr. Smith still out, connected to the Torchwood computer, still helping in every way he could. Whilst the Doctor fumbled about with the TARDIS key, all the time still trying to keep hold of the junk that was rapidly falling from his grasp, Mr. Smith was calling out to him. When the Doctor eventually found the TARDIS key in his Time Lord 'bigger on the inside' pockets, he discovered that it had changed as well. Sighing, he pulled a disappointed face and pushed the TARDIS door open with his back and hurried inside, bits of metal flying out everywhere.

Rani, Luke and Clyde were not far behind and filed into the attic one after the other, even though their progress had been slowed slightly by the Doctor dropping bits of metal throughout Sarah Jane's house here there and everywhere. Their piles of the junk that they had picked up from the table had obviously increased, but now Clyde and Luke were each holding one end of a long yellow wire cable that the Doctor had left on the stairs. "Luke, Rani, Clyde", Mr. Smith started, "I have..."

"Not now Mr. Smith", Luke said as they hurried into the TARDIS after the Doctor, "Mum is on her way up, tell her".

And with that the blue doors to the TARDIS closed. If Mr. Smith could throw arms up in the air and sit crossed legged on a chair in disgust, he would have. And he would have done a number of other things too if he were able.

Moments later though, there was a loud bang from outside of the attic, followed by various English other Earth language, and alien swearing that Mr. Smith had never heard mentioned in Sarah Jane's household. Sequel to that was the annoying robotic voice of K-9 telling Sarah Jane not to be so rude as it could have offended someone. With a huff and another crash, the attic doors burst open and an out of breath Sarah Jane stumbled into the attic carrying K-9. "I don't care K-9", she told him as she sat him down with a thud on the wooden floorboards, "And I hope that if the Doctor heard it, he understood it".

"Sarah Jane", Mr. Smith addressed the fuming human before she went off onto another rant.

"What Mr. Smith?" she replied rudely as she marched over to the TARDIS doors, "I'm being summoned so make it quick".

"I have an urgent incoming message from Torchwood Three Hub", he told her as he brought up the Torchwood file photo from earlier, but it now had red writing over it reading; URGENT.

"Put them on hold", she instructed him as she leant herself on the TARDIS doors, "They are all big boy and girls over there, and to be honest, there are more pressing issues to attend to".

And with that, the TARDIS doors opened themselves, emitting a bright golden light. The same light that had engulfed Sarah Jane only a matter of minutes ago and caused her latest transformation. Sarah Jane turned on the spot after feeling the doors give way, and looked straight into the blinding light. It poured out of the entrance way to the TARDIS like water out of a tap. She almost felt it pour into her, and with a smile on her face, Sarah entered the only real safe place she knew on Earth.

* * *

"Whoa", Clyde managed to say as the three teens stumbled into the TARDIS.

What was before them was something they really hadn't quite prepared themselves for. The Doctor had said that the TARDIS had changed too, but they must have obviously not understood what he meant fully. They were expecting to see the console room they knew; coral archways, metal grating floor, but less higgledy piggery as everything would be younger and not broken. However, a lot more had happened than just a bit of spring cleaning.

The room was a wide open white space, and giant grey roundels covered the walls. Just inside the door, was the coat stand which used to be there before, but it now held items for which it was designed for, and the interior police box doors had disappeared. They had been replaced by a massive roundel covered door which met in the middle like a set of zigzags. But the biggest difference was the console itself.

They had expected that it would have changed, like explained before, but not to the standard of which was in front of them now. It had completely changed like the rest of the room. It now didn't rise to the ceiling, and more buttons covered the main console. The new new old Doctor was pressing and flicking nearly every one, and cursing aloud at the TARDIS in every language possible. The reason being, he was getting no readings. "Be patient! You want me to be patient!" he yelled at it as if he were expecting some sort of answer, "I want my answers now, not when you feel like giving them to me".

"Doctor, yelling at something won't make the situation any better", Rani told him.

"Ah yes, sorry", he said as he lifted up his new new old face, "What do you think of this TARDIS?"

"I can see why mum liked it in here", Luke replied as they began to explore the TARDIS once more, each and every bit completely different, "It is much cleaner".

"We-ell, I could say the same thing about her attic before she moved in", the Doctor replied, "Have you seen the mess she has made in there? I don't know how she can live with it".

"The same way you do in me", an angelic voice came from the door.

The four of them turned to look to see where the voice had come from. Standing in the open doorway of the new interior doors of the TARDIS, surrounded by a golden glow, was the new new old Sarah Jane. Slowly, she walked forward, the doors closing automatically behind her; the light emitted from her eyes became apparent. Being inside the ship itself, caused the intensity of the light to increase, and she now seemed to be emitting a glow of sorts from under her skin. "You are a bad influence on all of your companions Time Lord", she added as the TARDIS made Sarah Jane glide almost up to the console, "You have only yourself to blame".

"Let her go", the Doctor said in a low soft voice, not even looking at Sarah at all, as he tried pressing some buttons.

"Why? Is she not better with my help?" the TARDIS Sarah asked as stood beside the Doctor, looking down at him as he worked.

He stood straight to his full six foot plus stature, turned, and looked down at the TARDIS Sarah Jane, "You didn't have to do this through her".

"Yes I did", she answered as the ship made Sarah Jane flick some of her own switches, undoing what the Doctor had just done, "The more ears to hear something, the less likely misunderstandings are to occur".

"That is good logic Doctor", Luke interjected into the faceoff between machine and pilot, "I'd just listen if I were you".

"Oh this boy of yours Smith, he is a good one", the TARDIS said through Sarah Jane, making her eyes look upwards, almost as if the statement was directed at her brain.

"And she knows it too, and would never doubt him. Neither do I", the Doctor smiled at Luke, before looking back to TARDIS Sarah, "Now, what is going on?"

"There is a fluctuation in the fluctuation", the TARDIS replied as Sarah flicked more buttons, "Artron energy was excited, causing further DNA change".

"A hiccup?" Clyde suggested, trying to make sense out of what was being said.

"More of a cough", the Doctor corrected, "Are there more 'coughs' to come?"

The TARDIS made Sarah Jane look down at the console and flip another set of switches. Within moments, a screen popped up and the teens moved forward for a closer look. At first glance it looked like a list, but it was in an alien language. Noticing the confused looks, the Doctor in turn flipped another dial, reaching over the console past Sarah, and the list changed to English. "I have calculated when these 'coughs' will occur, and what DNA age results will come with them", the TARDIS told them, "I have put the results into a list, inputting data from Sol Three day times and weeks".

"So-oo", the Doctor started as he walked forward, hands in pockets, "For most of the time, we will be as we were this morning. Every evening at about nine we will revert back to our correct appearances, and by the time we wake in the morning, we will be back to what we looked like this morning".

"But there will be exceptions", the TARDIS continued, "On Sol Three Wednesday afternoons from 1400 till 2100 and Saturday afternoons from 1300 till 2100, age will fluctuate to as all of you are now, including companions younger Smith, Dr. Jones, and Noble".

"Martha, Mickey and Donna have been affected too?" Rani questioned.

"That was probably what Mr. Smith was trying to tell us", Luke said feeling slightly guilty for leaving them clueless to what had happened.

"I didn't hear him", the Doctor stated, his face full of confusion as to what the teens were discussing.

"Time Lord, you sometimes don't even hear yourself", TARDIS Sarah Jane told him, "And more often than not, you don't even hear your companions. Smith here knows about that all too well, so it isn't surprising that you ignored a Xylock".

"Okay, I'm useless, I get it", the Doctor replied, "Back to the point. So, and on Sunday afternoons, Martha, Mickey and Donna go to the delightful age of seventeen, forty for, whoa oh boy, Sarah Jane, she ain't going to be too impressed. And finally, number nine for me. Just to make things complicated".

"No kidding", Clyde added as he laughed to himself slightly.

"Is the plan still going to work?" Rani asked, "By the looks of that list, you could be in school for one of those 'coughs'".

"Oh yeah, it'll work", the Doctor told her; "I think I can convince your dad to let Sarah Jane and I off every Wednesday afternoon. I'll make it one of my many conditions for employing me for free".

"He's employing you for free?" Rani squealed in shock.

"Oh yeah, never had a pay check in my whole life", he winked at Rani.

"Smith here might disagree with that statement there Doctor", the TARDIS Sarah jumped in, making her look up into her head again, "Something here about UNIT secretly paying you into an account which has never been opened. Apparently, the interest it has gained is quite considerable and you are costing the government a lot every year".

"So it is you fault we are in an economic recession", Luke joked, but the Doctor's face told him he might have taken the joke seriously.

"Maybe", the Doctor said as he stared off into space across the TARDIS console room.

"Doctor", the TARDIS Sarah Jane said after a few moments of silence from the Doctor, breaking him out of his trance, "I give you permission to use that device of yours, but I have one request for you if you do intend on using it".

"I'm all ears", he replied smiling as his hands turned his ears to face her.

"Be careful", the warning came, two simple words.

"Is that the TARDIS or Sarah Jane speaking now?" he smiled as he placed his hands behind his back and leant forward mischievously.

Sarah Jane smiled and her golden eyes rolled back in her head, her legs buckling slightly as she grasped onto whatever she could find on the TARDIS console. Luke ran to his mother's side and took her arm and wrapped it around his shoulders to help her stand. She was quicker, much quicker, coming back round this time as even before Luke was beside her Sarah Jane was able to support her own weight. "Thanks Luke", a small weak voice came as her head slowly rose to look around the room.

"Sarah Jane", Rani started as she went to her mentor's side, "You really should stand up for yourself and not let him (she pointed at the Doctor making him stand to attention) or the TARDIS enter your head Willy nilly".

"Don't you think I know that", Sarah Jane croaked in a smile to her, "When I eventually learn how to put up the blocks, I'll let you know".

"You are already building up those defences Sarah", the Doctor told her as he un-flipped the switches the TARDIS had un-flipped earlier, "You had to walk into that TARDIS light for her to take you over. That shows that she needed full power to do it".

"It's like immunity", Luke said in realisation, which received an approving nod from the Doctor, "Every time someone or something enters your head, your minds sets up the barriers for next time".

"Except for me", the Doctor grinned a thousand watt smile, "I know how to get around everyone's defences, Sarah's especially".

"Sadly", Sarah Jane mumbled just out of his range of hearing, but loud enough for all of the teens to have heard it to which they all smiled at.

"Right then gang", the Doctor said in a loud burst as he jumped to stand before the TARDIS interior doors that led off to the rest of the ship, "Time for the grand tour, of sorts. Seeing as Sarah Jane and I will be experiencing multiple changes through the age spectrum, we will need to be ready, which means clothes".

At the mention of clothes, Rani's face lit up. Never mind a grand tour of the TARDIS, the clothes closet was something Rani would dare not to miss. Sarah Jane had told her multiple times about the TARDIS closet, (and its boot cupboard) but she never told her too much. Enough to let Rani's brain imagine and dream.

"Rani, you go with Sarah Jane and make sure she doesn't choose something overly ridiculous for this time period", the Doctor told the almost about to burst teen, "And boys with me to make sure I don't do the same. Sarah, do you remember the way?"

"One of many", and with that she took Rani by the hand and the teen didn't even need to be told to start running, and they zoomed off past the boys. But once they were further within the TARDIS and their pace slowed, Sarah added, "Even if it is the scenic route".

The two girls slowed their pace down to a walk, and an eventual stop as Rani was taken over by awe from her surrounds. Her mouth dropped open and she couldn't help but look around, even if this was just a mere corridor. But this corridor went on and on and on. Either way she looked, Rani could see it turn off in a number of directions, some parts opening up into larger spaces with chairs and coffee tables to sit and rest at.

Sarah Jane smiled at her young friend. She remembered how she felt when she first started to explore the innards of the TARDIS. "C'mon Rani", Sarah said when she had felt they had spent enough time looking in this one spot; "We still have a great distance to cover".

"Why, where are we going?" Rani asked as she followed Sarah down the expanse.

"Uh, well, ah, err", Sarah Jane started as they reached a junction and she looked down either way, "The thing is Rani..."

"You don't remember the way do you", Rani smiled finishing Sarah's sentence for her.

"I do", Sarah Jane replied in an octave higher than normal, "Just not this bit that's all".

And with that she rushed down one of the junctions and stopped when she got to another. Rani just watched as Sarah Jane back up with a sheepish look upon her face, before heading down the other one. She reached another junction yet again, but this time, she turned 180 degrees on the spot to face Rani. "This way Rani", she called, "I remember it from here as clear as day".

"Good", Rani replied as she jogged down to be at Sarah Jane's side, "Now, where are we going?"

"My room", Sarah answered.

"You have a room on the TARDIS?"

"Yeah, the Doctor let me choose it and everything".

"So where is your room?"

"By the library and up a small flight of stairs somewhere around here".

"Oh okay", Rani smiled, "I don't see any stairs".

They had come to a dead end. It was a small round room, with many doors leading off into more rooms. Roundels covered the wall still, but in some of these ones sat flowers and painting from all across time. At the centre of the circular room sat one round white sofa with a round back too. A script of sorts laid sprawled out half read, with all sorts of notes sticking out of it.

As Sarah examined the doors before she decided to open any of them, Rani went to the script and picked it up. The script, if it was a script looked as though it had been sitting there a while, but hardly any dust covered it. Careful not to lose the page whoever was reading it was on, Rani flipped it over to see what it actually was. As Rani flipped it over, she was shocked to see the title, and the A4 booklet's official purpose; Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling, First Edit.

"Uh, Sarah Jane", Rani squeaked as Sarah finished looking at all of the doors indivually, not even opening them.

"Yes Rani", Sarah replied as she turned and saw Rani's confused face, "What've you got there?"

"I... uh... I'm not sure", Rani stammered as she passed it to Sarah Jane.

Sarah Jane took the booklet from Rani, and looked at the cover herself, all the time careful not to lose the page. Rani watched as Sarah Jane's eyes widened and flicked back to the page whoever was reading it was on. "He still hasn't finished this yet?" she asked nobody in particular.

"What do you mean?" Rani questioned Sarah Jane.

"Well, just before I left the Doctor, we went to the nineties and happened to bump into..." Sarah Jane looked up at Rani, "well, you have probably guessed. She asked us to read it and give it a good first edit so you know all the spelling and grammar was correct. We sat down with it, me with pen and post it notes and the Doctor reading the book aloud to me and we started to check it over. We only got to here and then the TARDIS went all bumpy, and we well. Well we forgot about it. Poor JK is still waiting in the nineties for us to bring this back".

"So you read Harry Potter, over twenty years before it even came out", Rani double checked what she was hearing, "And J. K. Rowling is waiting on you and the Doctor to bring back the manuscript so she can go ahead and get it published?"

"Yes, so I better get him to take this back to her", Sarah Jane told Rani as she took the manuscript under her arm, "But this means we are in the right place".

"We are?" Rani looked confused as she looked around the room, "I don't see any stairs".

"No, I think the TARDIS has changed purposely so you can see some of the other rooms. A quick tour so to speak", Sarah reassured her, "Once we have finished looking in each of these rooms, there will only be one, and a set of stairs will appear where one of them is at the moment".

"Okay, I get it. I think", Rani told Sarah as they opened up the first door.

The rooms turned out to be; the massive TARDIS garden, the pool, the galley, and some sort of storage area that went on for miles. It had boxes upon boxes of stuff with all different types of writing on them. Sarah Jane explained to Rani it was the Doctor's equivalent of an attic, and that she didn't even know what was totally in there.

The final room, to Sarah Jane's relief was the library. Sarah Jane laughed at Rani's face when she pushed open the door. It hadn't changed in all the time she had been away from the Doctor, but still, even Sarah was in some state of awe about it. The rows and rows of books went on for miles, and Sarah Jane noticed there were more shelves that didn't use to there before too. Close to them was a desk with books sprawled out on it, with a pot of all sorts of stationary sitting precariously on the edge, ready to fall off at any second.

"So I guess it is on to your room now?" Rani asked as she listened to her voice echo around the large space.

"Oh yes", Sarah Jane smiled, and with a spring in her step shut the library door.

She was right, as soon as they had closed the door, the others had disappeared and now in the wall by the corridor they had originally walked down was a small flight of stairs up to a beautifully white door at the top. Sarah flew up those stairs so quickly, it took Rani by surprise. As Rani headed off after her, she had to slow down her pace once her eyes laid eyes on the wall up to Sarah Jane's room.

Originally, it had looked like the rest of the TARDIS, grey roundels on white walls. But now as Rani walked past it, it changed. Sarah Jane didn't seem fazed by it, or even notice it at first, probably down to the fact she used to see it every day. But once she noticed Rani was not with her anymore, she had to look.

Rani could not believe her eyes. It was like the pictures of nebulas that nearly every book o space had in it; big gas clouds, illuminated by starlight. The hairs on the back of Rani's neck stood on their ends, and she felt as if nothing else mattered. What was before her was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life. "Like it?" Sarah Jane smiled.

"Like it? I love it", Rani said, unable to stop smiling herself.

"It was the deciding point on me having this room", Sarah Jane revealed, "I wanted to be by the library or the garden, but I couldn't decide. But when the Doctor showed me this, I knew where my heart lay".

"I would have chosen this room too".

"And you haven't even see it yet", Sarah Jane laughed, "C'mon".

"Why are we going to your room anyway?" Rani asked as they climbed the stairs, her eyes still fixed to the view on the wall.

"Each bedroom in the TARDIS connects up with either the male or the female wardrobes which runs below the entire TARDIS. They connect up in the middle to in the boot cupboard and then a single set of stairs leads up to somewhere by the console room", Sarah Jane replied as she reached the door, "Thing is though, I couldn't remember how to get to that set of stairs".

"Fair enough", Rani shrugged, "I enjoyed this way".

"Good", Sarah Jane smiled as she looked at the door.

It was a beautiful white door with swirling engravings running the whole height. The frame was surrounded by fairy lights that as Sarah Jane rested her hand upon the wood, lit up and gave out a wonderful blue light. On the upper half of the door sat Sarah Jane's name, written in long elegant gold writing, slightly tarnished black by age. If this was a glimpse to what lay beyond, Rani could hardly wait.

And then she saw the key. Rani knew Sarah Jane wore something around her neck at all times, but she never saw it. She would have never even known there was a chain there if she hadn't seen Sarah Jane fiddling with it once. The chain seemed to have light bending properties as you could only see it in certain lights, the rest of the time it was invisible. But now Rani had seen the key, she now understood why Sarah Jane had never let them see it in the past.

It was a crystal, Rani thought it had to be a diamond, TARDIS shaped pendant that had a blue glowing essence within it. If Sarah Jane had ever taken that out in public, she would never again be able to walk into a spar unnoticed. In Rani's opinion, out of all the alien technology she had seen with Sarah Jane, this along with the view next to her, were the most beautiful things in the entire universe.

Sarah Jane noticed Rani gawking at the key and waved a hand in front of the teen's face, snapping her out of the trance she had gone into. "Rani Chandra", Sarah Jane smiled, her excitement beyond what it had been in years, "Welcome to my TARDIS room".

As she pushed the door open the smell hit them both; lavender. It was just as fresh as the day Sarah Jane had left it, if not fresher. As Sarah crossed the threshold, the automatic lights came on, illuminating the room after so many years. They started close to the two girls, spreading back in a chain reaction illuminating more of the room as they went.

In all the years Sarah Jane had been separate from the Doctor, nothing had changed. He must have had plenty of opportunities to come in there and change things around, but it looked as though he never entered it. Sarah Jane had heard of the Doctor jettisoning certain rooms to increase the efficiency of the TARDIS, but her room was one he obviously chose to save. Thank God.

As the girls walked in, they walked over a friendly doormat with a hedgehog smiling on it. On the wall to the right of them was a coat rack nailed to the wall with items that Sarah Jane had left; her woollen hat and anorak for instance. The wall on the left hung a large painting, vibrant colours almost jumping off the paper. In fact, they did. As Rani looked closer at it, some streams of colour came and danced around her head before heading back into the painting.

On the other side of the room, cut into the wall like a small hole, was Sarah Jane's bed. Pink sheets covered it, and the big pillow at the head looked more plump that a stuffed turkey at Christmas. At the foot sat a collection of stuffed toys, all resembling some sort of alien Rani presumed as they looked nothing like the toys she was used to back home. On the little bit that would have been above Sarah Jane's head, was a map of the night sky on Earth, and on the wall next to the bed was a poster of the solar system. Rani's guess was this was Sarah Jane's attempt at trying to understand some of the things the Doctor would go on about.

Sat on a desk by the bed in the wall was an old typewriter, with sheets and sheets of used and unused paper. A vase of lavenders sat beautifully in the corner, giving the room its lovely smell, and a pot of stationary sat in a better place on this desk than the one in the library. What looked like an iPod dock and iPod touch sat in one of the roundels by the desk, and Rani could see the Doctor explaining it to the younger Sarah Jane, and showing her how to use it. Rani imagined that if he did do that, Sarah Jane must have laughed o herself when the first iPod eventually came out. "It was a very humorous to see its 'daddy' first come on the shelves believe you me", Sarah Jane laughed as she noticed Rani go in for a closer look.

Rani smiled and looked up to see Sarah Jane walk over to what looked like a wardrobe in one of the corners of the room. _Perhaps the TARDIS wardrobe in there_, Rani thought to herself as she couldn't see that small or in comparison small wardrobe to the rest of the TARDIS, being the entire TARDIS wardrobe. Hanging though on the outside on a wooden hanger was the most amazing dress Rani had ever laid eyes on. "Things just keep getting better and better", Rani laughed as she walked over to by Sarah Jane and touched the dress, "Are you by any chance going to be taming a lion in the next five minutes?"

"Might do", Sarah Jane laughed, "I wore that dress at a masque in Italy. Broke a prince's heart, but still".

"Broke a prince's heart?" Rani squeaked, "You sure you won't be taming a lion?"

"The only animal I have ever tamed is K-9, and he isn't even a real animal", Sarah Jane laughed as she picked up the dress and put it into the wardrobe, but soon her hand disappeared deep into the wardrobe and she pulled a face as she yanked something down, "Although, I bet I could make a staircase appear out of thin air.

Suddenly, the floor in the middle of the room began to turn. Soon, a hole formed, and something started to spiral out from the floor. The first thing out was a golden handrail, spiralling up out from the floor, soon followed by a set of steps that stopped just above the floor, creating a small threshold they would have to cross.

Rani's mouth almost fell to the floor. "If your mouth opened any wider Rani, I swear I could fall in", Sarah Jane laughed at the teen, "C'mon you".

Sarah Jane almost skipped over to the stairs, and with on last cheeky grin at Rani she descended downwards. Rani smiled to herself as she span and had one last quick look at Sarah Jane's room. _No wonder she liked it here_, Rani smiled to herself as she thought, _this place is amazing._ And with that last thought, Rani descended down into the dark below after Sarah Jane.

* * *

**AN: **Hello my wonderful readers. Here is chapter five, and chapter six won't be too far behind, I'm about 2/3 of the way through, so that is good going. Please, again, could you review as I would like to know what is going on inside your heads as I am by no means a mind reader. I am working on it though, and you will know instantly when I acomplish it as I will stop asking for reviews. Or it will be because I've given up pleaing to you all, or you become consistant enough for me not to ask. Oh, and just as a sort of sneeky peak as to what it to eventually come, I'm planning on giving Sarah Jane a boyfriend (hint in the title), the Doctor will teach them one hell of a physics lesson, and Sarah Jane teaches Rani how to perfect running in high heels. Maybe that is a good enough insentive to get you all to review... Anywho, see you when I see you, Stitch.


	6. Two Waistcoats and Other Items

**Two Waistcoats and Other Items **

A pair of feet quickly descended down into the female wardrobe of the TARDIS. There was so much enthusiasm and eagerness to get down; they hit the steps causing the golden painted metal to clank under them in an almost rhythmic pattern. As soon as they hit the final step, in a chain reaction, the lights turned themselves on, illuminating the entire wardrobe in a warm golden light.

Sarah Jane stood and watched as one of the most amazing places she had ever been in came to life. Power flowed into everything that required it; music players now waiting to start playing pieces across time and space, the rotors ready inside the machinery that would spin the rack around to reveal even more clothes, and the voice activated map on the wall, ready to direct the user to the correct part of the wardrobe.

In the roundels of this room sat plants, and in some of the larger ones, shelves were occupied by accessories of all sorts. A whole rack designated to hats sat proudly in its own corner, and a display of simply jewellery waited in an illuminated blue light in another. Around the edge of the room, were many stairs, all leading up to other companions rooms. Clustered around the base of these stairs were the particular companion's preferred and favourite dresses. At the bottom of Sarah Jane's sat a collection a fancy dresses for the odd party she and the Doctor had been invited to and a menagerie of practical clothes, ready to be ran in.

Sarah walked over to her personal collection and ran her fingers over the familiar fabric. One of many regrets after leaving the Doctor was not being able to take all of these clothes. At least they had remained semi untouched. It wasn't unheard of one companion going through another's collection of clothing; Sarah Jane herself had done it to Victoria. Suppose she would have been a big hypocrite if she was angry that one of her successors had gone through her clothes.

"Oh my", Rani said in a weak voice behind her somewhere.

Sarah Jane turned around to see Rani halfway up the stairs stopped dead, her mouth almost at the floor. She leapt to the bottom and looked up at the teen as her eyes moved from one location to another, her expression unchanging. "Rani, what did I say about your mouth only minutes ago", Sarah smiled up at her as she reached up with her hand for the teen ready to take it.

This seemed to snap Rani out of her shock and looked down at Sarah Jane. Taking her hand slowly, Rani carefully walked down the steps, all the while still gazing around the wardrobe. "This place is huge", she said as she reached the bottom.

"The collection is even bigger than this", Sarah Jane told her, "The TARDIS changes what is on display to suit your needs. The only bit that doesn't change is the personal piles we have made".

Rani noticed Sarah Jane indicating to piles of clothes dotted around by each of the staircases. What she could see of Sarah Jane's was that it was very colourful, ranging from the absurdly bright to boringly dulls. As Rani looked at the other's, she guessed that perhaps the one next to Sarah Jane's was Martha's, down to the fact it had about two similar jackets like the one she had seen draped over the seven year old Martha. They couldn't have been Gwen's as she had never been in the TARDIS and she doubted that they were Mickey's or Jack's. Although Jack...

"So Rani Chandra, where do you want to start first?" Sarah Jane asked as she extended her arms.

"Uh, I don't know. Um, perhaps with things that you will be wearing most of the time", Rani suggested, "Mind you that you will be in a school uniform most of the time".

"Hmm, I doubt the TARDIS will have a Park Vale uniform", Sarah Jane smiled as she looked around, "But we could always ask her to make one".

"She can do that?" Rani asked as she followed Sarah Jane head of down one of the rows of clothes.

"Basic things yes", Sarah Jane confirmed, "Once had her make me a simple apron as I lost a bet to the Doctor and had to cook food one evening. Thing was though, all the ones the TARDIS provided were too beautiful to use, so I had her make a simple white one. The Doctor also told she has the ability to transfer logos onto fabric".

"So, we just find clothes that look like my uniform and print the logo onto it", Rani finalised.

"Exactly, so let's find them before we can start having fun", Sarah Jane smiled at her as she picked out a white blouse that looked similar to what she had seen Rani wear to school, "Then we can move onto the shoes".

They found the white blouses, black skirts and tights easily enough, but finding the correct colour tie was an issue. There weren't that many female ties in the TARDIS, so Sarah had to have words with her and bring one over from the boys section. Good thing they were so close now. Also the transferring of the Park Vale logo onto the fabric was simple, but it took a while, so the girls in that time decided to go and look at out of school clothes for a sixteen year old Sarah Jane.

First of all, after typing in Sarah Jane's size and what era and planet they wanted clothes from into the TARDIS map, the two girls went for normal things; jeans, t-shirts and vest tops. But as they scanned through and picked out stuff, the TARDIS began to bring forth items from across the universe. And soon, both girls got distracted in playing dress up.

Rani came out of the changing room in a fabulous dress that almost seemed to swirl and move as if it were a liquid. As she bent around, the base would level itself out, like a glass of water would do if you tipped it slightly. Sarah Jane though, after years of practice, found a t-shirt that Rani wished she had found. As Sarah Jane would concentrate, pictures would form on the shirt of what she was thinking about. Rani's face appeared first of all, and then Sarah Jane focused on some of the planets she had been to, making Rani's eyes widen. But then, the picture changed to the TARDIS wardrobe, and Rani knew what that meant. "Gosh, we have been in here half an hour and have only found you clothes that would cover one day", Rani squeaked as she ran back into the changing room and began to get back into her normal clothes again, "Wish I could keep the dress".

"Somehow though Rani, I can't see you explaining it to your parents, even with help from the Doctor", Sarah Jane laughed as she too changed back into the clothes she still had on from this morning, "Keep it out though. The Doctor will find a safe place to put it for you, and anything else that takes your fancy, and you can dance around it the whole time he is here if you want".

"You think he would really do that?" Rani wondered as she came out done, dress over her arm.

"Sure, after Luke and Clyde are finished with him", Sarah Jane smiled as she buttoned up her waistcoat, "Remind me to change into something more comfortable my current age once we are finished here".

"Will do".

Soon the two girls were on the hunt for clothes again; Rani this time also taking quite a few items herself. They had sorted out Sarah Jane's teenage wear, even if there were a few strange things thrown in. Sarah Jane had insisted on having a few items that she would have worn in her first round at being sixteen. Rani wasn't too worried though as they didn't seem that out of place, but on the other hand, you would know instantly at seeing them that they were not of this time period.

Soon they had done, uh, Sarah Jane's more mature clothing for Sunday afternoons, which was quick and simple as some of the stuff Sarah Jane had back in her own wardrobe were suitable enough and they had just picked out some more shirts and coats. And they had picked out some lovely hats; some for the warm weather, and some for fashion.

But they were having the hardest time deciding what Sarah Jane was going to wear now. Rani thought she would look good in just a simple shirt and jeans with a fashionable belt, but Sarah Jane felt as if she needed more. "Once, no actually when I left the Doctor, I wore red overalls like Andy Pandy", she told Rani as they continued down the aisle.

"Don't give the TARDIS ideas", Rani warned her.

"And I also had this denim outfit, oh and a pink skirt suit. Don't forget the cashmere sweaters, and how can I forget the clothes I was 'given'", Sarah Jane continued as she picked up a black jacket and added it to her pile.

Suddenly, a whole rack appeared before them. It spurted up through the floor like it was pushing through air. Slowly it became illuminated by the golden light that lit the rest of the wardrobe, and the girls became aware of what was upon it. Exactly the clothes Sarah Jane had been describing. _Oh great_, Rani thought as she felt her shoulders drop.

"Told you I and the TARDIS had a good relationship", Sarah Jane smiled at Rani before she headed over to the rack.

Rani watched as Sarah Jane placed down her pile of clothes carefully on the floor, and reached out to touch the clothes. She ran her fingers over the old fabric. Well, old as in how long it had been in the TARDIS, not in fashion age. Some of the stuff looked too spacey for Sarah Jane to have chosen to wear herself, so that could be what she meant by 'given'. "Oh, I wish I could wear this stuff again", Sarah Jane sighed as she rubbed her fingers on some silky fabric.

"Well why don't you take some of the more to this date clothes, and mix it up with the other stuff", Rani suggested, "Just as long as you don't take that Andy Pandy costume out".

"Don't worry, that is in the attic somewhere, in one of the more atticy places", Sarah Jane laughed, "Why, do you think I will embarrass you?"

"No, I was never saying that", Rani answered quickly.

"Hmm", Sarah Jane gave Rani a suspicious look, "C'mon you, boot cupboard".

The boot cupboard was almost as big as the wardrobe, and for Rani, it was exactly as she had imagined. In the centre, was the giant golden staircase Sarah Jane had mentioned, with fairy lights like around her door that wrapped around the spindles and up the banister like a snake. On the other side from where the girls had entered from, was obviously the boys' equal door.

But the big thing about this room though was the shelves and shelves of shoes that lined the walls. Dotted around the room were odd little benches, like you find in shoe shops, some with an odd shoe sitting all alone upon them. Over by the boys' door, was, quite rightly, the men's shoes; boots, dinner shoes, willies, men's trainers, and some alien footwear too that Rani thought must be for the male of the species. On the girls' side though, were rows, and extra rows, of every girls fantasy; high heels, Cinderella slippers, normal slippers, plain shoes, and just about everything else you could imagine. Meeting though in the middle, was quite a messy shelf, which looked recently used more than anything, of converse type shoes. _No wonder_, Rani thought, _that is all the Doctor, has worn when we have seen him before_.

"This can't be good", Sarah Jane said ominously.

"What can't be?" Rani wondered, "This place is amazing!"

"I mean the lack of a male presence", Sarah Jane said as she deposited her pile of clothes onto a seat, "It is very quiet".

"Yeah", Rani said as she listened to the unusual silence, "Aren't guys supposed to be light and quick shoppers? Dad hates going clothes shopping with mum and me. And Clyde, when we are in town or something, he squirms if I suggest even the quickest popping into a clothes shop".

"Hmm, that's what has got me worried. Luke, he hates the mention of clothes shopping. And the Doctor, he doesn't really need to go clothes shopping", Sarah Jane added as she walked around the room, biting her index finger as she thought, "You don't think they would jump out on us do you?"

"I think they would have by now", Rani replied as she doubled checked behind one of the rows of shoes, "And don't you think the TARDIS would warn you if the Doctor was deciding on doing something like that. You both seem to be ganging up on him".

"Suppose, the mutual feeling of the need for revenge is clear, so the TARDIS will probably be looking for every opportunity for me to get back at him, rather than the other way around", Sarah Jane smiled as she gave the TARDIS walls a stroke, the machine replying with an agreeing hum, "Well, they can't have gotten too far. Remember what I said, the Doctor will let you take the dress once Luke and Clyde are finished with him. I bet each of them has a pile just as big as yours. C'mon, let's get the shoes whilst we wait".

They tried on everything. They had fun in the high heels, and Sarah Jane told Rani how well she used to be able to run in them. Then, Rani found the perfect pair of deep blue shoes to go with her 'water dress' and some matched up some exotic alien shoes with some of the other outfits she had picked out. Sarah Jane found the shoes, or what seemed right to go with her 'thought' top. They were a lovely pair of plimsolls that camouflaged themselves to whatever surface you walked across.

After all the fun, they got down to the serious stuff. They found a nice pair of black shoes with a slight heel for Sarah Jane to go to school in, and she chose some new boots whilst she was there. "He won't miss them", Sarah Jane told Rani as she picked some out, the intent on keeping them apparent.

But then, they came down to the difficult task of choosing shoes for when she was out of school and for her present self. There were some nice boots that Sarah Jane had found that went with some of the outfits, but boots were really too warm to be wearing in summer. Perhaps when it rained, as it always seemed to rain in summer in Britain these days, they would be better suited. Sarah Jane picked out some nice heels that weren't too over the top, and she had a couple of pairs of trainers. But there seemed to be a massive gap in after school, and things she could just throw on. "Rani, what do you normally wear out of school?" Sarah Jane finally asked as they continued to look through the many shelves.

"Oh, just my converses", and with that, it clicked.

"You lot do seem to wear them more often than not don't you", Sarah Jane smiled as the girls skipped over to the Doctor's 'special' pile in the centre of the room.

With three well used pairs chosen; black, burgundy, and purple, the girls sat back down and began to look through their accumulated piles of clothes and shoes. Rani was discussing how she could get away with wearing the alien items in public, demonstrating to Sarah Jane using her pile of clothes. As this continued, there was still no sign of the boys, and Sarah Jane began to look nervously around at the door. "Do you think they are okay in there?" Sarah asked, looking over at the door for the umpteenth time, interrupting Rani as she explained yet another outfit, even though Sarah Jane was no longer paying attention.

"I'm sure they are fine", Rani comforted her; "I bet the Doctor is having personality clashes".

"I can see that being very likely", Sarah Jane laughed, "I think I'll go and get changed into something more comfortable, and if they aren't out by the time I'm done, we'll go and find them".

"Sounds like a plan", Rani smiled as she watched Sarah Jane grab some items and head back off to the girls' wardrobe, "I'll just stay here and have fun dressing up".

Once Sarah Jane was gone, Rani dived into her pile of clothes. She took out the hats, feather boas, tiaras, long coats and everything else that she could use to dress up in. Like a small child, she wrapped the feather boa around her neck, pulled on a thick fluffy coat, put on a giant hat, and swung a handbag around her arm. Walking up to the mirror as elegantly as she could, Rani couldn't help but be reminded of the ladies from the old monochrome movies who would walk in, and leave with a man on each arm. Well, she could do that today if Luke and Clyde decided to play along.

The door behind her pooped pen and Rani span around to see Sarah Jane peeking her head around the corner, checking to see if the male presence had decided to show up yet. With a disappointed look on her face and a small sigh, she came from around the door and stepped into the room. She had decided upon a three quarter length light blue, almost white blouse, with a black waistcoat done up over the top, three quarter skinny jeans and a pair of small heeled white sandals with many straps, ready not to come off if the inevitability of running occurred whilst they were with the Doctor. "That looks really good on you Sarah Jane", Rani commented.

"Thanks", she said as she did a quick spin, "Mind you though Rani, somehow, I don't think a bright pink feather boa would go down too well in public".

Rani quickly removed some of the items she had put on in embarrassment and looked up to see Sarah Jane sitting down with one of the most gloomiest faces Rani had ever seen her have. Rani sighed, and marched over to sit down next to her. "Look, I'm sure the guys won't be long. Just be glad of the peace whilst we have it", and with that, there was a loud crash from the other side of the men's door, followed by some various curses, "I think I may have spoke too soon".

"It is good though as we didn't have to risk entering there", Sarah Jane reassured her, "Harry once told me, that the Doctor has made one hell of a mess in there, and I don't particularly want to see another Doctor messed up room after seeing the inside of his bedroom".

"I bet that was an adventure and a half", Rani smiled, thinking about how messy she had seen Luke and Clyde's rooms get.

"That would be the understatement of the year", Sarah Jane laughed.

Suddenly, two figures bundled out from the closet, each carrying a cardboard box, and their faces obscured by many items of clothing. One had a large fedora hat covering most of their face, and the Doctor's long brown trench coat draped over his shoulders. Whilst the other's face was hidden by a long multicoloured scarf, leaving just a tuft of hair sticking up out of the top, and another coat, grey this time draped over his shoulders. "It's Scotland all over again", Sarah Jane said as she rushed over to the figures, "Can you two breathe under there?"

"I think I can better than Luke", the figure with the hat replied, "Can you help? He just kicked us out with this stuff".

Sarah removed the hat from Clyde's head and took the coat from his shoulders, whilst Rani obliged with Luke, but needed help when it came to unwrapping the scarf from around his face. Eventually, Luke emerged, but with Sarah, Rani and Clyde all holding up the scarf. "Why'd he kick you out", Rani asked as they folded up the scarf.

"He's changing", Luke replied, "He sent us out here with this stuff as he couldn't decide between the coats, and said it was rude to wear a hat indoors and that he would need Mum's help with the scarf".

"Nothing changes there then", Sarah Jane laughed, "What's in the boxes?"

"Oh, just the stuff we wanted", Clyde told her as they finished folding up the scarf so it was now in a neat little bundle.

"Told you Rani", Sarah Jane said, "But is that all?"

"They are bigger on the inside", Luke said as he bent down to his and reached in, pulling out two more boxes, "He apologises for not giving you these before you descended into the wardrobes".

"Well", Sarah started with a smile as she took them from her son, "At least he apologised. Here you go Rani, put them in there".

"Will they all fit", Rani said as she pulled a face at the tiny box, "I mean, it isn't very big, and I have a lot of clothes".

"Like Luke said", Sarah started as she dropped all her clothes straight into her box, "They're bigger on the inside. But don't ask me to explain it to you".

"So, what's it like in there?" Clyde asked no female in particular as he nodded towards the female quarters.

"Oh, probably not much different from what you saw in the guys'", Sarah told them as she sat down on one of the seats.

"I bet it was tidier though", Luke commented, "It looks as though he has just left piles of clothes wherever they were most convenient although, there were some mannequins with outfits on them".

"Yeah, like the ones he took the grey coat, hat and scarf off of", Clyde added, "Then there were others that just looked completely weird".

"Still the hypocrite", Sarah Jane scoffed, "He always told me never let an object become sentimental, and yet he goes and keeps safe all the clothes from each of his regenerations".

"He wore all of them!" Luke said in shock.

"Oh yes", Sarah replied, "He never took off that scarf in his fourth regeneration".

"Hey, enough about what we saw, what is it like in there with you girlies?" Clyde asked as he made his voice squeak on the word 'girlies'.

"Very neat compared to what you have told us", Rani laughed, "But the best bit was Sarah Jane's room".

"You have your own room Mum?" Luke questioned.

"Where do you think I slept? I wasn't going to sleep in the console room, and he could never get me home, so of course I had a room", she replied.

"You should have seen it. The walls leading up to it changed to a display of a nebula, and then there was the key, and oh don't forget the magic stairs, and she had an iPod before it ad even come out, and by the TARDIS interior timeline of things, Harry Potter is yet to reach the publisher", Rani added in one breath.

"I knew I was forgetting to do something", a voice said from behind them making them all jump.

Turning around, they discovered it was the Doctor, leaning up against the framework of the male wardrobe door, suggesting that he had been listening for some time. But the biggest thing they noticed about him was how he was dressed. He wore black trousers, a short red shirt, a black tie, and black waistcoat, but no shoes. "Oh, now that is much better", Sarah Jane smiled as she walked over to him and untwisted his tie.

"Annoying though, it is like a regeneration", he smiled back as he stood to his full height, "and I must say, I feel ten times comfier seeing that you have changed too".

"Thanks, we are like a matching pair in these waistcoats", she joked.

"It ain't the only thing I'm going to wear. Got some jeans and shirt set aside, and you have to help me choose between the coats", he said, and then pulling a face that none of them, not even Sarah Jane had seen him use before, "Oh, it's even worse than being exiled. Look at me, I'm preparing. I never do that, except for carrying everything and anything in my pockets".

"Aw, poor you", Sarah Jane told him as she rested her hand upon his arm, "C'mon, it is only for four weeks. And you haven't got any shoe yet".

"I was thinking about going barefoot this time", he smiled as he took her by the arm and they walked over to the seats were he sat Sarah Jane down, before going down an aisle of shoes, "My Rani, how many clothes do you have in that box? It looks like it is about to burst!"

"There aren't that many in there!" she told him.

"It's okay Doctor, she left one piece in there for your future guests", Sarah Jane laughed.

"Hey, you weren't much better", Rani laughed back at her; "You got the TARDIS to bring up the stuff you wore in the seventies".

"And?" Sarah looked expectantly at her, "You have to give me a break Rani. I am going through multiple stages in my life again, so there is obviously going to be some psychological issues".

"Sarah Jane Smith, I have never heard so much garbage in all my life", the Doctor yelled at her as he jumped out from an aisle in a pair of almost sparkling leather shoes, "I know this is the perfect opportunity to, but don't milk the situation".

The boys started to snigger as they watched Sarah Jane's face turn into that of a child who had just been told off. Her gaze though never left the Doctor's eyes, but her depressed frown started to turn into a grin as the Doctor smiled a thousand watts at her suddenly. "C'mon you lot, time to show off my brilliant idea", he said as he took Sarah Jane by the hand, helping her to jump up, "Allons-y!"

* * *

**AN:** Thank you those who have waited patiently for this next chapter. It took longer than expected, and it has been one shattering week, even though I had the whole of Wednesday off. Got to get up at seven tomorrow, and get the half eight bus to town, and won't be home till at least five in the evening. A shattering weekend too by the looks of things! Does everyone like the Doctor's clothes for the four weeks? He will change tops to a dark blue and white one I think, and I may change the tie too. Also, like he said, he has jeans and shirt that he will wear mostly on the weekends. I haven't forgot about the Foogies either, they will be reappearing soon. Maybe a few more times after that too. And there will be some appearances of other familiar faces ...


	7. Brownies and Vanity

**Brownies and Vanity**

As soon as Sarah Jane had placed her foot down on the attic floorboards, Mr. Smith attacked her. Well, not literally, just bombarding her with the fact Torchwood was still on hold and the Captain was getting ready to come down as he thought something was wrong. "I disappear for half an hour, and the Captain thinks something has happened to me", Sarah Jane said as she set down her box on her sofa, "Put them through Mr. Smith, better late than never".

The three teens plonked themselves down onto the sofa next to Sarah's bigger on the inside cardboard box to watch the events unfold. The Doctor had, well, kicked them out of the TARDIS so he could complete his 'plan'. Sarah Jane was a bit miffed to say the least, but the Doctor insisted, and promised her that things would happen a lot quicker if he didn't have them asking twenty questions every time he took a breath. Nothing's changed there then.

"Oh, thank god", Jack sighed in relief as he saw Sarah Jane's face on screen, but then as he looked harder he added, "So it's not just us then".

"I gather that was about Martha and Mickey, seeing that they have suddenly become twelve year olds", Sarah Jane confirmed with him.

"Yeah, there was this sort of explosion of light and then..." Jack looked behind her and around the attic, "Where's the Doctor?"

"Where do you think?" Sarah Jane raised an eyebrow at him.

"Stupid question really wasn't it?" he shrugged as Sarah nodded in agreement, "Where were you may I ask?"

"Having _le grande tour de TARDIS_", Clyde said in his best French accent.

"Have you come out with a bag of goodies each?" Martha asked as her new mature face popped up in front of Jack.

"Yes, Mum too", Luke replied, "You're looking happier".

"Thanks, twelve year old hormones are so much better to cope with", she smiled at him, "How old are you supposed to be now Sarah Jane?"

"Twenty-five Martha", Sarah Jane smiled back at her, "And I agree with you, I much prefer this age to this morning".

"What about the Doctor?" Mickey asked as he jumped up from behind Jack and leant over his shoulders.

"He's all teeth and curls", Rani replied.

"Good luck", Jack laughed, "So, do you guys know what happened?"

"The TARDIS, being the almighty space time machine that she is, coughed", Clyde smiled, using his hands to help express himself.

"She coughed!" Jack squeaked.

"What's happened now?" Ianto asked as he appeared from somewhere in the inner depths of the Torchwood hub, "Looking good Sarah Jane".

"Thank you Ianto", Sarah Jane smiled at him, "Yes Jack, she coughed. And will be coughing again in the future".

"So, we could end up at any stage in our lives at anytime if the TARDIS gets a tickly throat", Martha worried.

"No", Sarah Jane corrected her, "The TARDIS has been able to predict the coughs and what the results will be. I'll get Mr. Smith to send over the timetable she has made".

"So, how long will we look like this?" Mickey wondered.

"Till about nine this evening", Luke answered.

"Oh, fun", Martha said sarcastically, "Then what?"

"You go back to your correct appearances. The ones before all of this", Rani told them.

"Who, what, when, why?" Gwen asked as she entered the Torchwood hub carrying two bags of shopping in each hand.

"Martha and Mickey are going to change again cos the TARDIS is coughing, and Sarah Jane is sending us a list of what and when it will all happen", Jack told her as he looked over the shopping, "You don't mind going shopping again do you?"

"No, seeing as you are paying", Gwen laughed and gave Jack a playful nudge, "Oh, hi guys. Oh my, you look excellent Sarah Jane".

"Thanks", she smiled, when suddenly there was a ring at the doorbell.

"Who could that be?" Rani asked, "Mum would have rung me if she wanted me".

"Hmm, I'll go and see who it is", Sarah Jane said as she turned on the spot and headed for the door, "I'll see you guys later".

"Bye Miss Smith. We wait eagerly for that list", Jack replied, "Close communications Mr. Smith".

The four of them watched the Torchwood hub disappear and Mr. Smith's normal screen reappear. The doorbell rang again, twice this time, quite eagerly. "If the Doctor comes out saying he is going to blow up the house, K-9 shoot him, Mr. Smith contain him, and you three shout the house down", Sarah Jane said as she went through the door, before sticking her head back in and adding, "You can handle that right?"

"Shoot, contain and shout, got it", Clyde nodded to her as he ran through the checklist.

"Instructions understood Mistress", K-9 confirmed as his blaster nozzle extended from his nose.

* * *

Sarah Jane couldn't help but laugh as she descended the stairs, and the three teens had to join in as they heard her continue down the stairs to answer the blasted door. It couldn't be Gita, according to Rani's logic as she would have rung. Clyde knew it couldn't be his mum, as during the day she just let him get on with his own thing and only called if she wanted some inspiration when cooking tea, which happened once in a full moon as Clyde, was now the chef in the house. And Luke didn't really communicate with others outside of the people in the attic right now in school unless it was absolutely necessary.

Just then, the TARDIS doors opened and out stepped the Doctor, an almighty smile on his face as he did. In his hand he held some sort of television remote that he seemed to have vamped up as there were some wires sticking out of the top, and he had changed some of the buttons to switches. The teens had to admit he looked rather good in his new outfit, but it had taken some persuading from Sarah for him not to wear the scarf. As a compromise, he got to wear the fedora, and have the grey coat if it rained. This was more than likely, due to the amount of precipitation in the recent years of the British summer.

"Do you think you and your mother will miss your television remote Luke", he asked as he waved it at them.

"I will", Clyde sulked as he leant forward and rested his head in his hands, "It's stuck on the news channel, how am I supposed to teach Luke the rules of football now?"

"Well, then with a flick of this switch..." he started as he moved his hand to the big flip switch in the centre of the device, "Where is Sarah?"

"Answering the door", Rani told him, "Someone was obviously eager to speak to someone in this house".

"Yeah, I'm surprised they haven't broken the doorbell after ringing it so many times", Luke added.

"Is that what that annoying noise was?" the Doctor asked as he placed the remote down on the desk.

"You could hear it from in there?" Luke asked.

"Oh yeah", the Doctor said as he stuck his hands into his pockets and tapped his foot.

His wild eyes started to gaze around the attic. Probably the first good look he had had since arriving. The first time was probably a good once look over, but now he was analysing every detail of Sarah Jane's home, like he had done earlier when they had their 'wonderful' breakfast. Suddenly, he seemed to become restless, the tapping of his foot increasing, and he took out a yo-yo from his pocket and began to play with it. "How long is she going to be?" he asked quickly, heading over to the door, stopping his yo-yoing.

"Give her a chance", Rani stopped him, jumping up from her seat and walking over to him.

"Do you require me to carry out Mistress Sarah Jane's instructions", K-9 asked as he rolled forward.

"Not yet K-9", Luke told him quickly.

"What instructions would those be?" the Doctor wondered as he stood at the threshold of the attic door.

"Shoot, contain and shout if you decided to blow up the attic", Clyde told him as he stood from the sofa.

"Do I look like I am about to blow up the attic?" he asked them, which he received a shake of the head from each of them, "And would you like to see what this plan of mine is or not?"

"Be quick about it then", Clyde replied as a huge smile crept across his face.

And with no further instructions needed, the Doctor jumped, or ran down three steps at a time, down to the second floor.

* * *

"Oh, I'm coming", Sarah Jane shouted as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Whoever was at her door, was either very impatient or was in a rush. Sarah hoped it was the latter as then at least whatever they wanted would be over and done with quickly. She grabbed the keys next to her home phone on the end table at the bottom of the stairs, and fumbled about with them as she walked over to the door.

The person on the other side, Sarah Jane was very surprised to see. And was the last person she would have expected to be at her front door with a plate full of chocolate brownies and a pile of papers. But the person behind with them, she wasn't that surprised to see. "Oh hello", Haresh Chandra said as he saw Sarah.

"Hi, Gita Chandra", Gita pushed past her husband to shake Sarah's hand; "This is my husband Haresh. Are you another relative of Sarah's?"

"Oh, um, yes", she replied, trying to remember 'she' hadn't met the Chandra's before, "Elisabeth, I'm the younger Sarah Jane's older sister".

Yeah, that sounded good in Sarah's head. It was normal these days for siblings to have large gaps between their ages, and the Chandra's seemed to be buying it too. "Gosh, you all look very alike", Gita pointed out, "Almost identical".

"Uh, yes, but do you mind me asking how you know Aunt Sarah Jane?" Sarah asked them, already knowing the answer.

"We live across the road", Haresh said quickly.

"Oh, so you are Rani's parents", Sarah Jane acted excited about the occasion.

"Oh, Rani's ours alright. Is she having fun in there with you lot", Gita asked as she looked over Sarah's shoulder to see if she could lay eyes on her daughter at all.

"Yes, she, Clyde and Cousin Luke are helping us unpack. Granddad always brings too much stuff with him", she laughed, "Just dumps it all over the place".

"Yes, I was hoping that I could speak to you grandfather, when he does have time, about his post in the school", Haresh said as he passed Gita the plate of Brownies, and handed Sarah Jane the papers in his hand; "Could you give these to him? It's the GCSE Physics Syllabus".

"Yeah of course, no problem", Sarah replied and giving it a worrying quick glance before they heard a loud thud from behind, and a mass of curly brown hair popped up from behind her.

"You coming or not Sarah?" the Doctor asked, "Its ready now".

"Dear, it's me, Elisabeth, not Sarah Jane", Sarah told him slowly, slightly nudging her head towards the Chandras.

"Oh yes, sorry", he said with a slight cough, "You do look very alike".

"We were just saying that", Gita smiled as she passed the Brownies back to Haresh, and extended her hand for him to shake, "Gita Chandra, this is my husband Haresh".

"Harry Sullivan at your service", the Doctor replied, making Sarah giggle slightly, "I'm Elisabeth's, uh, long term partner".

"Nice to meet you", Haresh nodded, and then looking down at the brownies that were causing both he and his wife so much trouble, "These are for you".

"Oh, thank you", the Doctor said as he took the plate off of him and gave them a quick sniff.

"We'll get Rani to bring it back over later", Sarah Jane told them.

"Thank you", Gita replied, "C'mon Haresh. The garden needs watering".

"Please give those papers to your grandfather. It's really quite important", Haresh shouted as Gita dragged him down the driveway.

"Will do", Sarah called after them, before turning to the Doctor and in a high pitched innocent voice, "Here you are granddad, Rani's dad asked me to give you these".

"Oh thank you dear, where shall I put these", he asked, playing along, in a slightly deeper voice, indicating towards the brownies.

"Bring them on up, we can eat them whilst you explain your master plan to us", she told him as she took one from the plate and put it in her mouth, "Oh, they're lush".

* * *

"Who do you think was at the door?" Luke wondered as he heard it slam downstairs, the Doctor's mission had been successful then.

"Dunno", Clyde shrugged as he fiddled about with one of the alien objects on Sarah Jane's desk, "Could've been anyone".

"Right!" the Doctor yelled as he appeared at the attic door much sooner than was physically possible after they had only just heard it slam, "Are we all present?"

"_Almost"_, Sarah Jane shouted up the stairs, "_Just bringing them up"._

"Them?" Luke wondered.

"The brownies" the Doctor told him as he went over to his modified remote.

"Why do you want a bunch of seven year old girls up here?" Clyde asked worried what side effects this Artron energy thing could be having on all of them.

"Not that sort of Brownie Clyde" the Doctor sighed like it was a simple thing, "The chocolate brownies Gita brought over".

"So it was my mother", Rani huffed, "Told you it would be".

Just then, Sarah Jane walked into the attic, carrying the biggest plateful of brownies any of them had even laid eyes upon before. The smell hit the teens like a train into a car, and all of the stood and looked eagerly at the plate. "Are they for us?" Luke asked quickly.

"Yes", Sarah Jane replied, elongating the answer as she was taken by surprise by her son's enthusiasm over the food.

"Can we have some now?" Clyde asked if not quicker.

"That is what I brought them up here for", Sarah Jane replied as she walked into the middle of the attic.

"Ah not yet", the Doctor stopped the stampede of teenagers; "First, we need to show off my plan".

With that, he waved his converted television remote in front of them all. As Sarah Jane looked the device over, she could feel the absolute annoyance build up inside of her. He had taken one of her belonging without asking, again. She took a deep breath and took her hands to her hip, giving the Doctor the look of Death. "Is that my television remote?" she asked him.

"Yes", the Doctor replied, "You don't mind do you?"

"Not in the slightest", she replied sarcastically.

"Good", the Doctor concluded, ignoring her sarcasm, "Now, I want you all to close your eyes".

The three teens closed their eyes after a brief giggle at the Doctor and Sarah's little spat. With a sigh, Sarah closed hers and dropped her arms. The Doctor did a little dance to check that their eyes were closed; one of them would have laughed if they hadn't. He quickly adjusted some of the settings on the remote, and gave one last glance towards the TARDIS. It was now or never, and he flicked the switch.

The Doctor knew it was a success, when a bright light bounced off every wall in the attic, and streams of energy poured out from the TARDIS door down through the floorboards. The Doctor was thankful it had worked. It was risky doing this with the TARDIS being 'ill' and all, but if she was able to take over Sarah, then she was capable of doing this. "Okay, you can open your eyes now", the Doctor said with one of the biggest grins on his face ever, which was something that was hard for this Doctor to accomplish.

The teens all opened their eyes instantly, and the first one to say anything was Clyde. "Oh my God", he said quietly, as Rani leapt around the room like a spring lamb.

Luke was being overwhelmed by questions in his head, so many to ask. He just stood there, as if unable to move, but his eyes darted around the room like everything was new. Well it was. On the other hand, Sarah kept her eyes closed, afraid by what she may find. Clyde's outburst didn't help the situation, but the sound of Rani running from one place to the next was encouraging. "Sarah, you can open your eyes", the Doctor told her as he walked over to her side.

"I'm afraid to", she replied.

"Why?" he asked as he placed his hand upon her shoulder.

"It doesn't bear thinking to what you may have done to my attic", she laughed slightly, "Without you it has been gooped, invaded, and been the centre of world domination. With you, it could be as ten times worse than that".

"You really think that I'm that bad?" questioned her, "I don't think giving you a little more space is a bad thing".

"A little more space!" Luke exclaimed, "You call this a little more space".

To that, Sarah Jane just had to open her eyes. The sound of absolute glee in her son's voice meant that what the Doctor had done, was one of his miracles. Her eyelids lifted at almost the speed of light, and what she found was more mesmerising, more unforgettable, than any planet, civilisation or wonder of the universe the Doctor had ever shown her, except for the TARDIS herself. But, technically, what was before them was the TARDIS, in some way.

Basically, the attic had doubled in size, if not more. The outside walls and roof had been pushed back, merging with bright white and roundels in the places where it was needed, and the floor was turned into a collection of white tile and used wood. Mr. Smith seemed not to have moved from Sarah Jane's point of view, neither had the TARDIS, but right next was the TARDIS console itself. How the hell was that possible?

What looked like to Sarah, was that her attic and the TARDIS had meshed together to form one large expanse of a control centre for all of them to run their alien sorting out activities from. Her shelves of books and tables of alien items had all been pushed back to the side, creating a rather nice open and clean space around the console and Mr. Smith.

The door and the little step up to it had been moved back from her, and this was where Luke was standing in absolute awe. Even his genius brain was having difficulty keeping up with the Doctor's speed of miracle working. Rani and Clyde were exploring the larger space, and Clyde seemed please by the fact that there was now, more room to play table football.

There was now a coat stand by the attic door, and the items on the back of the white wood had moved to sit upon this new item, doing what it was designed for. The TARDIS also seemed to have multiplied the number of sofas in Sarah Jane's attic, as there was now not one, not two, but three of her aunt Lavinia's old velvet sofas sitting in a u shape. "What did you do?" Sarah Jane asked the Doctor with a large smile upon her face.

"Reversed the polarity in the neutron flow", he said quickly, looking for the quick way out.

"That doesn't apply here Doctor", Luke told him.

"Damn, thought I could get away with that, forgot you were in the room Luke", the Doctor smiled at the boy, "Well, uh, basically I told the TARDIS to reverse her internal dimension outward so instead of the machine being contained in a police box, she is now contained in Sarah Jane's house. That is probably the easiest answer".

"So my house, is now the TARDIS?" Sarah Jane squeaked.

"No. That", he pointed towards the police box, "is still the TARDIS. She has just shifted some of her rooms outside to be contained within your house. If I was to run into those doors, I would find the console room without your attic, and the rest of the TARDIS".

"So it is like a game demo", Clyde suggested, "You get a bit of the game, but not the whole thing, without actually owning the game".

"Yes", the Doctor told him, overjoyed with the real life scenario.

"But why do it?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, you are full of questions today aren't you" the Doctor smiled at his former companion, "You have such a lovely house Sarah Jane, and with the TARDIS here, we won't use it. So, by merging them together, we use your house, and at the same time get the fun of the TARDIS. Also, it can be turned off; I installed a switch by the front door for when we have 'guests'".

"Suppose I can live with that", Sarah shrugged, "Now, brownies anyone?"

* * *

It had been one busy afternoon. What rooms the TARDIS had decided to share with Sarah's house was unbelievable, and where they went was even more impressive. Under the stairs, was the TARDIS library, the airing cupboard on the first floor was now occupied by the swimming pool and spa, and the kitchen had expanded into almost two rooms. One side was Sarah Jane's regular kitchen, and on the other, was the TARDIS galley producing a never ending supply and variety of foods.

Sarah Jane's room had changed too, along with Luke's. Her room was now a menagerie of her regular room, and the one from the TARDIS. One half was the regular room, with her bed by the window looking out over her garden, and the other half, closer to the door and into the wall, was her TARDIS room. Her TARDIS bed seemed to have changed into some sort of pink seat, Sarah guessing that the TARDIS knew that she didn't really need two beds, which was being greedy. And most surprising, was that her wardrobe led into Narnia. Not really, it led into the TARDIS wardrobe, but it was like stepping into Narnia.

Luke's room was similar, except that the TARDIS had merged his with one of the guys' rooms. The Doctor informed him that it was Harry's, the architecture was undeniable. Luke had to admit, just by looking at the stuff in his TARDIS room, even though according to Sarah, he must have only really used it less than ten times, Luke really liked this Harry bloke. Lots of medical books stolen from the TARDIS library, posters of alien anatomy, what more could a boy genius want?

After an interesting dinner that the Doctor came up with, consisting of God only knows what, and to finish off brownies for desert; Sarah Jane put a protest. The Doctor had no room to stay in. He argued that he needed less sleep than humans, which she already knew, but still thought he needed somewhere to go if he wanted space. The actual truth was that Sarah Jane didn't want him fixing up the TARDIS until the early hours of the morning when the rest of them were trying to sleep.

With the Doctor kicking and screaming all the way up to the first floor, Sarah took him to the spare room. "Sarah, I don't need a room. I'm a Time Lord", he told her, winging almost.

"Oh, I know you are a Time Lord", she winged back at him, "But even you need a room. And funnily enough, I have one".

Sarah stopped him in front of the door, and reached to turn the handle open. Before she did though, she stuck her other arm backwards, and grabbed the Doctor's waistcoat as he tried to sneak off. She heard him huff, and felt the tension in the fabric lessen as she realised he had stopped and was going to comply. As she pushed open the door though, expecting to see her lovely guest room that was hardly ever used, she was shocked to find what was there. The Doctor too, had to admit he was a little bit shocked by what they found.

The TARDIS had decided that it was an excellent idea not to let Sarah Jane have just one guest room, but a whole corridor of them. They checked each one of them, and they were exactly the same as the rest, the view out over Bannerman road and all. "Well, I have a choice and a half don't I", the Doctor said as he turned to face Sarah.

"Just a bit", she replied, but then took a hand to her head, "What time is it?"

"Five to nine" the Doctor replied, without even consulting a watch, "Let's get you downstairs and comfy yeah".

* * *

Having a good warning this time, the kids and K-9 barricaded themselves behind Sarah's downstairs living room sofa, ready for what was about to happen. They thought it to be very funny and dress up in some of the clothes they had from the TARDIS wardrobe. Clyde and Luke were in some sort of green combat gear, and had drawn two lines across their cheeks with mud. Rani had done something similar, but wore a long dark red cape and carried a spyglass the Doctor had found. They made sure K-9 joined in too, and had strapped a pair of flying goggle over his head, and found small military like pouches to hang over his back.

Before dinner, and a little before Sarah Jane had put up a protest, the Doctor had joined them in on their game, escalating it to a water gun fight out in the back garden. Sarah Jane could only watch and laugh, until the Doctor dragged her in and they all got wet. It turned out Sarah Jane was an excellent shot, and got the others wet more than she got hit. And now, the Doctor sat in a defensive position on Sarah Jane's floor, with his arms wrapped around said female, ready for the Artron energy fluctuation. "Ambush force in position over", Clyde said, pretending to say it into a radio".

Luke had his head sticking out from the sofa, taking note of the Doctor's countdown with his fingers. "Ready to fire in just over a minute over", Luke replied in the same way as Clyde, they were going to give Sarah and the Doctor a few seconds to recover before they completely destroyed them.

"Five, four, three, two, one", the Doctor called, and milliseconds after he finished, there was a large burst of light that went straight over the top of the sofa, keeping the children in the dark.

It was over just as quickly as it had started, and silence filled the room as the children listened out for some sort of sign that they were okay. The Doctor told them not to fire until he gave them some sort of signal. What signal that would be, they were unsure, but it was ominously quiet. Too quiet compared to what had happened earlier that afternoon. They couldn't even hear them breathing. "Do you think they are all right?" Rani asked the boys and metal dog.

"Scan of surrounding area suggests that Mistress Sarah and Doctor Master are functioning normally", K-9 replied as he extended his scanner nozzle and took it back again.

"Good", Luke sighed in relief, "But where's the signal?"

"I'll have a look", Clyde replied as he slowly raised himself up on his knees to look over the top of the sofa, "They're gone".

"What?" Luke jumped up and began to frantically look around.

"That's impossible", Rani joined in as she jumped up and looked around the room, "Maybe not then".

"They can't have just disappeared", Clyde stated as he walked into the middle of the room, "They just can't have".

"Haven't you learnt anything Clyde Langer?" a male voice asked from Sarah's kitchen arch.

They all turned to look. And were they happy to see that face or what? There was the Doctor they knew from all their previous adventures, smiling happily at them. But, in his hands, was the biggest water gun ever, and it was pointed directly at the three of them standing in the centre of Sarah Jane's living room. "Anything is possible", the Doctor finished as he pressurised the gun, "Now Sarah!"

Suddenly, the window behind them opened, and a flurry of water hit them as Sarah Jane released all her fury upon them. Screams of laughter rocketed around the house as the Doctor joined in, and the forceful attack force that was the teenagers was destroyed. They raised their arms in defeat, and dropped their weapons. The Doctor ran into the living room and across to the window, making a looser symbol on his forehead as he went past the kids, sticking his tongue out for good measure. Reaching outside, he pulled in Sarah Jane, who was laughing her head off.

As she flicked her head back, and the hair went from her face, Luke swore he couldn't be happier to see someone in all his life. There was his mother, in all her glory, shouting looser at him and he couldn't be happier. "Mum!" he shouted as he ran over to give her the biggest hug on Earth.

"Oh, what's this for? It's like you haven't seen me for days", she laughed as she hugged him back.

"We haven't", Rani joined in as she and Clyde joined the hug too.

"I think they are happy to see the normal you, Sarah Jane", the Doctor smiled at her.

"The old me", she said back coldly.

"No, the always beautiful you", he corrected her, as he joined them in the suffocate Sarah Jane fest.

The hug between the five of them never seemed to end. They were all soaking wet, but that didn't bother them. The four defenders of Earth had only recently been covered from head to toe in Blathereen goop, and the Doctor had had his fair share of being covered from top to bottom in substances that don't dare thinking about.

As they separated, something caught the Doctor's eye across the room. He removed himself from the hug, and the other four watched him as he walked over to Sarah's Victorian fireplace. Sarah Jane could only smile as she watched him slap his cheeks and grin at his reflection in the mirror. "Ah, it's good to be back", he smiled at his reflection, "'Ello gorgeous".

"Oh, ever vain", Sarah Jane laughed as she threw a pillow at him.

* * *

**AN:** There you go loyal readers; Chapter 7. Hoped you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Took me longer than I thought, as I had writers block halfway through. Only for about a day though, which was a good thing. I also have possibly two Christmas presents for you all that I plan to upload closer to the time, they just require some fine tweaking now. One of them is a one shot, and the other looks as though it is going to be a massive AU fic. God help me.

Chapter 8 sounds like it is going to be a good one at the moment inside my head. The first half looks to be very funny, and there is an incident with the shower planned as well. You are just going to have to guess on that one, and Sunday looks like a good day for catching the Foogies. Enjoy the rest of your week, and chapter 8 may be up sometime over the weekend. Depends really on how I feel and how much revision I need to do for my winter mocks. Have one on Friday, one next Monday, one next Wednesday, and one next Thursday. That's all I know so far, but they won't be too long as they can't really test us on much as we have only been there three months.

Please review as ever. Opinions are well appreciated. Thanks for reading this far if you did, and happy 1st December!


	8. A Right Old Pair

**A Right Old Pair**

"Rani, I'll walk you back home", Sarah Jane called to the teen as she was just about to head out through the door.

Rani stopped one foot in and one foot out in Sarah Jane's doorway. Clyde had gone literally just a few seconds before her; Carla phoned asking him to come home already. None of them were too fussed. It was half nine and they were all rather damp, and had come away with a large, or rather small but bigger on the inside, goody bag, uh box.

Speaking of bigger on the inside, the TARDIS interior had too changed. Instead of the large white and grey roundels and lush white walls with a clean feel about them, lining various parts of Sarah Jane's house, they had now changed to the dusty metallic and coral version that they had last seen. It made the attic look even more clustered than it did before, but in some parts of the house, it made it look absolutely fantastic.

Sarah hurried around the corner with Gita's now empty plate, clean to go back to its owner. Rani was still getting used to the changing faces of the Doctor and Sarah. It had taken her all morning to get used to looking at the sixteen year old Sarah Jane, then the afternoon for the mid-twenties, and now, even though Rani was used to seeing this face all the time, it was odd seeing normal Sarah Jane. Rani was thankful that she hadn't, or was yet to travel in the TARDIS; even more so now after seeing what the machine could do head on.

First, she was able to take over Sarah Jane's mind and body. Then there was the tour and her ability to change her interior when she felt like it, and the wardrobe. And finally, projecting out her internal dimension thingy, which isn't at all confusing.

"I'll be back now", Sarah called back into the living room where Luke and the Doctor were trying to tune the television without a remote; something Sarah Jane demanded that the Doctor did once they had finished their water fight.

"Don't be too long", the Doctor shouted back.

"I won't", Sarah Jane replied, before looking back to Rani, "C'mon you".

"Busy day huh?" Rani smiled as the two walked down Sarah's driveway past the green Figaro.

"If you think that was busy, multiply what you are feeling by ten, and you will feel as I did when travelling with him", Sarah laughed, "This is a quiet day, compared to what he is used to".

"Guess it will be a lot quieter in the next few weeks", Rani added as she looked both ways before crossing.

"Oh, he will find trouble", Sarah Jane corrected her, "Just you watch. Something will happen".

"It's like the trouble follows him", Rani suggested.

"No, it's more like he is the trouble", Sarah Jane smiled as they reached Rani's front door, "You think your parents would mind if I came in for a few minutes. I bet they have a lot of questions, and it's not fair for them to ask you".

"Thanks" Rani replied as she turned the knob, "You won't believe how early I'll get to bed now".

The two crossed the threshold of the house, and were immediately hit by the smells of the Chandra's dinner; chips were Sarah Jane's conclusion. Rani dropped her bag down in the small alcove under the stairs, next to one of her father's many briefcases and a pile of posters that belonged to her mother. "Heya", Rani shouted as she took the plate from Sarah Jane.

"Hi sweetie", Gita called back; "We've saved you some chips".

"Thanks", Rani replied as she led Sarah Jane round into the front room where her parents were sat upon the sofa watching some Saturday night television, "Sarah Jane's family decided to feed me".

"Oh hi Sarah", Gita smiled at her neighbour; "You didn't have to".

"I know but my nephew insisted", Sarah smiled, "Wanted to show us a new recipe. Oh, and thanks for the brownies, they were very tasty".

"Family formula", Haresh smiled proudly, before Gita elbowed him in the ribs, knowing that really he had taken it out of a cookbook and managed to put too much chocolate into the mixture.

"So, I never knew you had family Sarah Jane. You should've told us they were coming; we could have had a big 'Welcome Smiths' banner and everything", Gita said, getting excited even by just the thought.

"Yeah, well, I only learnt last night that they were coming. Wanted to surprise me they did", Sarah Jane smiled, "Which they successfully accomplished".

"Are they staying for a while? It's just your brother, I think, has applied for a temporary teaching position and your great niece is joining our year elevens for their GCSE's" Haresh asked, still rubbing his side, "From some test records your brother gave me, she looks like a very promising candidate".

"Really? Oh, um, yeah, well they are staying for a while. They thought whilst they were here, young Sarah Jane could sit her GCSE's", Sarah replied, trying to remember the cover story she and the Doctor had come up with, "They've all been travelling and home schooling her. Makes sense, whilst they are having some sort of rest bite, to get her education sorted out".

"Sounds like a good plan". Gita smiled, "So, how many are there of you".

"Uh, my brother, niece, nephew, nephew in law, two great nieces and Harry", Sarah Jane listed, trying to remember everything, "Oh, and Luke and I of course. Plus, we have some family friends coming down next weekend".

"Yes, are you still up for having Rani that weekend?" Gita asked.

"Yes, seems we have more room than we thought", Sarah Jane smiled, making Rani giggle.

"Well, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask", Haresh reminded Sarah Jane for about the umpteenth time since they had moved in.

"Thanks, night all", Sarah Jane smiled as she headed out, Rani following.

"Don't forget to tell them to come over and introduce themselves", Gita called, "We can all have a cuppa tea together".

* * *

The Doctor was lying on his stomach as he looked at the replacement he had found for Sarah Jane's television remote. It was an old one Luke had found in the proper part of under the stairs. It was from their old analogue television they had replaced not too long ago, and it was giving the Doctor a lot of trouble. If only he had found this one for his switch on Sarah Jane's TARDIS house switch than her other one. It would have been much easier to connect this one up. Oh well, that was just the way of the bloody universe wasn't it.

Luke was passing the Doctor various tools from Sarah Jane's toolbox, noting down almost everything the Doctor did, and reminding him every so often if he had already done what he was about to do again. Suddenly, the television switched itself on, and the Doctor looked puzzled at the remote. He hadn't touched a thing.

A cough came from the doorway, and the two geniuses turned their heads to find Sarah Jane standing in the doorway, waving another remote in her hands. "Thanks for trying Doctor", she smiled at him, "But I had another one".

"What? Why? But Luke said..." he was lost for words and looked to his accomplice for help, but he was smiling, on the verge of breaking down into laughter, "You knew there was another remote".

"Yes", Luke laughed, "K-9 did too if you bothered to ask him".

"But why Sarah Jane?" the Doctor moaned as he stood up to him full tall height.

"So you could learn the lesson of not to take things without asking", she smiled at him, before throwing him the remote.

"Lesson learnt", the Doctor pouted, "For now at least".

"Hmm, that'll do", Sarah Jane smiled, "C'mon Luke. Time to get ready for bed, it's been a long day".

Luke let out a small chuckle as he stood and left to head upstairs. On the way past, he gave his mum a small quick kiss on the cheek, and when heading up the stairs, he took three steps at a time. Just like someone else Sarah Jane knew. And that very particular person was standing lost in thought in the middle of her front room. "Doctor?" she said, hoping to bring him out of his trance, "Doctor?"

"Hmm, yes, were you saying something Sarah", he replied as he shook whatever he was thinking off.

"No, just seeing if you were still alive", she smiled.

The Doctor gave himself one quick look over, spinning around to check that he was all there. "Think I am, wait", he paused and closed his eyes, "Both still working".

"Good. Where's K-9?" she wondered as she looked in his favoured places in the front room.

"Waiting for you in your bedroom I think", the Doctor replied, "Luke said he put Mr. Smith away when he went to get me your tools".

"Right, well, I think it is high time we headed off to bed too", Sarah replied as she clapped her hands together, "If you could unplug the television and turn the lights off in here, I'll go and shut the ones of in the kitchen".

"And then up the wooden hill to the land of nod", the Doctor added as he started to carry out the instructions relayed to him by his former companion.

* * *

Sunday morning, and it was drizzling nicely. It was too pathetic to be called rain, and was too heavy to be mist or fog, so it was drizzle. Everything outside was covered in a fine layer of water, making the leaves on the trees glisten in the sun that was poking its way through the clouds every so often, and causing small, but frequent rainbows to materialise, and then disappear again. Just like someone Sarah Jane knew.

Today was no different from any other Sunday, or so she thought when she first woke up. She was awoken by the sounds of Luke turning the television on downstairs, the news put straight on as normal. He would get himself a piece of toast to tie him over until Sarah came down half an hour later, and then they would have a proper breakfast together.

But first, Sarah Jane grabbed her towel, and headed out across the landing to the bathroom for a quick morning shower. The warm water was refreshing, and helped o gradually wake herself up. Luke, hearing the signs downstairs, put the kettle on and started to make his mum coffee, and the wafts of the brown liquid managed to find themselves heading upstairs and into the bathroom where Sarah Jane inhaled them, along with the steam.

Now she was hungry. Wrapping the towel around her torso, and rubbing her hair in another, she stepped out onto the landing and headed back for her room. The wooden floor on her feet was cool, and if she weren't careful, she could slip. But as she walked past the guest room door, it creaked open.

Sarah Jane screamed and jumped backwards into Luke's open bedroom door. She had completely forgotten the events of yesterday and Friday evening God she was stupid. How the hell didn't she recognise her sixteen year old self? And how on Earth could she forget that the Doctor had 'one' of her 'spare rooms' that the TARDIS had so kindly provided. "Mum?" she heard Luke call up the stairs.

"She's alright Luke. I just made her jump", the Doctor called back down, "I'll have a tea please".

"Okay", Luke replied, and Sarah heard him disappear off into the kitchen to carry out the Doctor's request.

"Sarah", the Doctor called to her softly, and he slowly poked his head round the door frame of Luke's room, "Are you okay?"

His eyes met with hers as she came out from behind the door. She pushed past him out onto the landing, and shut Luke's door behind her. "Nice shower?" the Doctor smiled at her.

"Very nice thank you Doctor", Sarah replied, "Just forgot you were here, let alone knew that you were going to pop out when you did".

"Sorry", he looked down at his feet and ran a hand through his grey hair, "At least you have your towel. Never leave home without it".

He had tried to make that sound like a joke, which it did sound like at first to Sarah, but as she thought about it, she realised she was still only wrapped up in a towel, and quickly became all embarrassed. Sub-consciously, she wrapped her arms around her chest and started to back up to her room. "Uh, you head on downstairs Doctor, and I err, I'll be down in a minute", she told him as she quickly ducked into her bedroom and shut the door before he could follow her in.

"Sarah Jane, are you embarrassed?" the Doctor asked with a slight laugh.

"No", Sarah Jane replied too quickly, but then she grimaced as she realised her speed let him onto that she in fact was.

"Okay", there was still that light laugh in his voice, "See you in a mo".

* * *

After a very quiet breakfast with Sarah Jane not even looking at the Doctor in embarrassment, and Luke staring at his mother's face, trying to get used to this new one again, there was a knock at the door. Soon after, Clyde and Rani entered the kitchen/TARDIS galley quite clumsily, as they were arguing over something feeble it was not worth their breath again.

Their gazes went straight to the yet changed again Sarah Jane and Doctor. Who were not looking at each other, well the Doctor was looking at Sarah, but she wasn't looking back. The two teens knew something had happened, what though, they were going to have to find out from Luke as they dragged him to the park. Apparently, the council were up to something, setting up a stage for some sort of weekend gathering. "So the TARDIS was right then", Clyde smiled as he straightened himself out.

"Isn't she always", the Doctor said proudly.

"No", Sarah replied as she sipped her tea, still in her dressing gown after her ritual morning shower.

That was when, Clyde and Rani guessed, they had first looked at each other over breakfast, as neither of them was planning on giving up the staring contest. A smile appeared on each of their faces, and all three normal teens knew then that there was some sort of subtext to the looks they were giving each other. Rani took in a deep breath and grabbed Luke by the shoulder, and tugged on the material of his shirt. "C'mon Luke", she said as he stood, "Clyde and I are going to the park. See you guys later".

"Call if the plan changes", the young Sarah Jane replied, not removing her gaze from the Doctor, as his smile seemed to get bigger slightly.

"Will do", Clyde said quickly as he pushed the other two out of the room, "C'mon".

It was a strange sight, an old man and a teenager staring at each other, neither one wanting to give it up. Truth be told, they were talking mentally. It was first an argument of sorts about the TARDIS being unreliable enough, which Sarah Jane won. But now the kids had gone, they could do whatever they wanted. The Doctor was sending her thoughts as to where they could go. He kept suggesting a quick trip into space or back in time, but Sarah reminded him the TARDIS was not well, which the whole room hummed in agreement to.

"What about a stroll Sarah Jane?" the Doctor suggested verbally as Sarah Jane was abusing him almost every time he started to suggest something mentally now, remembering not to say the 'w' word with K-9 in such close proximity, "Then perhaps a quick test of your knowledge ready for tomorrow?"

"Sounds good", she smiled at him, before looking out through the window in the kitchen back door, "It's stopped drizzling, and oh look, the sun has actually decided to make an appearance".

"I never remember summer being this wet when I was with UNIT", the Doctor stated as he picked up the empty plates.

"Nobody had ever heard of Global Warming back then Doctor", Sarah reminding him, "Although there were all those radical groups trying to clear the Earth".

"Hmm, weren't they an exciting lot", the Doctor laughed, "Are we going to take K-9?"

"Could do, but you can explain what he is to the general public", she laughed at him as she picked up the juice glasses.

"Won't have to Sarah Jane", the Doctor told her, "The human race Sarah Jane, is on average a rather dull lot you know, you are only a level five planet after all".

"Thanks for reminding me", she smiled at him sarcastically, rolling her eyes, same old Doctor insulting every species left right and centre.

"What would you do if you saw an old man and child walking along a perfectly normal street with a robotic dog following them?" he looked at her as he finished with the plates, "You'd ignore them, and now c'mon get your coat".

* * *

The council was definitely up to something in the park. A large metal frame had men clung to it like ants, putting it together. Drilling rang around the park, and the clunk of metal hitting metal made Rani jump as they walked past. They weren't the only inquisitive residents in Ealing coming to look at what the council were up to, there were at least thirty or so, on lookers standing at the edge of the construction site, peering through the metal grating. They had every right to be there, something **was** actually happening in Ealing (apart from the various alien invasions that nobody knew about).

There was a large flyer stuck to the side of the metal fencing that no-one seemed to take any interesting. From the distance the teens were at, it seemed as if the council were going to hold a summer concert. The school band's name was in a list with other artists making a performance, with the main attraction being some singer who had just made it into the charts. Clyde nodded his head as they walked past it, definitely noting that he was going to go.

The three teens headed over to the playground, the swings to be specific. The drizzle had caused the metal of the playground structures to look as though they had some sort of glaze over them. The sun was reflecting off the water, and the lack of children due to the drizzle was a benefit. "So, what was up with your mum?" Clyde asked as he sat straight down onto the swing seat, forgetting to wipe off the water.

"The Doctor gave her a fright that's all", Luke replied, "I think she is a bit embarrassed by the whole thing".

"It's not like Sarah Jane to get embarrassed", Rani noted.

"I think she just forgot that he was here", Luke suggested, "I forgot about the events of yesterday when I first woke up".

"Same here had that little pit in my stomach when we first walked in", Clyde agreed.

They all turned to look again as the metal hit metal in the construction site. Whatever this concert the council were up to was all about, they would soon find out. No doubt the flyers were going out today, and most of them ending up in the recycling as junk mail.

* * *

The Doctor was waiting impatiently at Sarah Jane's front door. Sitting proudly upon his head was his fedora and on his shoulders was a lighter form of his grey coat. His foot began to tap under the impatience, and there was no point in looking at a watch like humans do to see what the time was, he was a Time Lord after all.

Suddenly, there she was at the top of the stairs. She was wearing a baby pink dress that came to just below her knees, and wore a white tee with a slight puff in what was there of the sleeves underneath, as a strappy dress wasn't the warmest of things as the drizzle had seemed to give a slight, but pleasant chill to the air. Spotty wellington boots sat loosely on her feet as she carried down a white coat with black buttons in twos all the way down the front. "You took long enough", the Doctor commented as she came down the stairs, subconsciously fiddling with the hat on his head.

"I didn't take that long", she moaned, "I said for you to give me five minutes".

"I did. You took five minutes and fifty seconds", he smiled at her.

"Oh, look at mister precise here", Sarah Jane laughed as she gave him a playful punch on the arm, "You are a fine one to talk about being late".

"Yes okay, I'm the biggest hypocrite in the universe", he smiled as he raised his arms in defeat, "So, K-9?"

"Yes", Sarah Jane smiled, before raising her fingers to her lips and letting out a loud, ear piercing whistle, "K-9! Walkies!"

"Coming Mistress", they heard the dog bark as his wheels could be heard moving across the floorboards upstairs faster than normal.

* * *

"I can't believe something is actually happening in Ealing", Clyde smiled, "Of all places".

"Oh yeah, nothing happens here does it", Rani joined in as they watched the hired men by the council, struggle with a large sheet of black tarpaulin.

"A lot happens here actually", Luke pointed out as he pushed back slightly on his swing, just enough to cause it to rock back and forth.

"Sarcasm Luke", Clyde told him, "We know a lot goes on. It's our way of life".

"Just, not a lot of big events get held that often", Rani smiled at him, "Plus, it is only really us and Sarah Jane who get to see the majority of things that go on in Ealing".

"Speaking of Mum", Luke started, "Can you really see her fitting into school?"

They all paused for a moment, thinking the thought over. They knew that she had gone to school, and her knowledge never seemed to end, and was always backed up by Mr. Smith if they didn't believe her. But, was all that knowledge and capability up to standards of the modern secondary school. It's not like the exam board wants to know all about aliens, and how a sonic lipstick works. The one thing they probably all agreed on though would be her creative writing skills.

And then there was the actual fitting in part. The social structures within the teenage society were confusing enough to the three who were a part of it already, so how was Sarah Jane going to handle it all. Her slang was even worse than Luke, and she wasn't up to date on all the general gossip, like what's on television and who's hot in the charts. "It's going to be entertaining isn't it?" Rani laughed.

"Let's just hope the Doctor has put her in subjects that she won't find too difficult", Luke added as he smiled at the thought of his mother in cookery.

"And that she won't be on her own either", Clyde contributed, "It would be a bit mean if she were in a class all on her own without us to help. We are going to have to be her knights in shining compulsory bog standard school uniform armour".

Just then, an ear piercing whistle began to ring around in the air. It sounded almost as if something was hurtling towards them at great speeds; which it was. A large black unrecognisable object was zooming down to the ground, just missing the tops of the houses. The three teens ducked as it hit the trees just above them, and went hurtling straight for the council stage.

The impact was so immense, that the sound wave pushed them all back slightly. Flames began to erupt from the site, and the sounds of collapsing scaffoldings rung around the park. The three teens leapt into action and began to leg it over to the crash site, all hoping that nobody had been hurt. "Just what we need", Clyde panted as he jumped the playground fence, "An alien to crash land in the middle of a public place".

* * *

"So, how is your general mathematics?" the Doctor asked as they walked along the damp park path, receiving yet another suspicious glare, this time from an old woman sitting down on a bench feeding the pigeons.

It was a right old sight. The Doctor had taken Sarah Jane by the arm, whilst using his other to prop himself up with a walking stick, making him look like a proper English gentleman. Sarah Jane on the other hand, in her free hand had K-9 by a fabric lead, him trundling beside her along the wet concrete. Every so they would pass the odd human who would gaze their way, and wonder what the hell they were up to.

More often than not, an inquisitive do would come and sniff K-9, who would return the greeting like he was programmed to. The metal dog had to admit though, that his canine acquaintances were much better company than Mr. Smith, for the time being. But now, he was getting fed up of them and was starting to miss the computer. "Could the walk possibly be relocated to another part of the park Mistress", K-9 barked up to the human.

"No K-9", Sarah Jane replied, "My general maths is alright".

"Hmm, what about your history?" the Doctor continued.

"Better than my maths, much better", Sarah Jane laughed.

"And I guess your English is good, and every other Earth language thanks to the TARDIS", the Doctor noted, which Sarah Jane nodded to, knowing that the TARDIS was still in her head, somewhere, "And your science?"

"Well, after listening to and watching you for years, and improvising many times in the last few years", Sarah Jane paused dramatically, "I think my science skills are better than the average teenager".

"Ah, but you are not the average teenager are you", the Doctor grinned at her as they turned down a path surrounded by trees, and a metal structure lay ahead of them.

"Suppose. But my excuse for not knowing everything cannot be 'I'm not actually sixteen, I'm...' well you get the idea", Sarah laughed at him as the clanking of metal could be heard from the structure ahead of them.

"Mistress", K-9 stopped dead in the path, yanking Sarah Jane and the Doctor backwards.

"K-9, don't stop dead like that", the Doctor complained as he rubbed his hip and adjusted the positioning of his walking stick, "This body reflects my true age a bit more than the others".

"Sorry Master, but I have to warn you..." but he was cut off there as an ear piercing whistle filled their ears.

"Sarah, hold your nose and open your mouth", the Doctor instructed her as he pulled her towards him, "Like back in the nuclear power plant".

"I know!" she yelled at him, having already done it with him shielding her from the imminent impact.

The floor shook as whatever it was hit the Earth. Sarah Jane felt the Doctor lean into her as the sound wave hit him. Whatever it was and whatever it hit, it was causing a lot of noise. The Doctor released Sarah Jane, and they turned to look at the metal structure that was ahead of them. Whatever it was was now ablaze with red and all the Doctor could hope was that nobody was hurt. "C'mon Sarah, K-9", he said as he started to run towards the now alight structure.

As they closed in, they discovered it was more of a stage like structure, and it had crumpled in the centre. This was also the centre of the blaze, and construction site workers were fleeing the sight any which way they could. The Doctor ran straight towards a man who looked like he was in charge. "My good sir, are all your men out?" he asked the gentleman quickly.

"Yeah, I think so", he panted as he removed his helmet, "What the... what was that?"

"I suggest that you just get back sir", the Doctor told him as a small cry came from the wreckage.

The Doctor looked to the burning wreckage. Whatever made that cry was obviously at the centre of this whole mess. He had his suspicions of to what it was exactly, and he was being convinced even further as it can communicate telepathically. He knew that as even though the cry was loud and painful, only he, and Sarah thanks to the TARDIS being inside her head, seemed to be able to hear it.

"Did you hear that Doctor?" Sarah asked as the man began to walk off and they began to inspect the wreckage from a safe distance.

"'Ear what?" Rani asked as the three teens thundered to a halt next to them, "Is it aliens?"

"Hear that cry, and yes it is aliens", the Doctor replied as he took a pair of glasses out from his pockets.

"I didn't hear a thing", Luke said, to which Rani and Clyde nodded their heads at.

"Psychic thing", the Doctor pointed to his head, "It's a Foogie".

"Knew it", Sarah Jane said as she began to take her sonic lipstick out from her pocket.

The Doctor did the same with his sonic screwdriver, and they each walked around the crash site, their sonics aimed at the middle. A crowd was starting to come over, just what they needed. As Sarah and the Doctor finished circling the Foogie crash site, Sarah went and bent down next to K-9. "Connect to Mr. Smith K-9, locate the Foogie and teleport back to attic", she told him.

"Back to the attic?" the Doctor screeched, "Do you know what you are doing?"

"Yes", Sarah Jane replied as K-9 started to connect up with the computer.

"We do this every year", Clyde added, "We are the experts on the situation".

"Teleporting in three, two, and one", K-9 counted down, before a big white light burned through the fire.

The crowd of Ealing inhabitants just looked on in amazement. For quite a few of them, it wasn't the first time they had seen strange goings on before their eyes. This was just another thing they could go to the media about. Sarah gave the Doctor a quick tug on the jacket as Luke and Clyde picked up K-9 and they all headed back off to the attic. "Now what?" the Doctor asked as he jogged alongside the teenagers.

"Now", Luke started, "We sit on it".

* * *

**AN: **Oh well, one week later than planned, but I had a really, really busy week. Finished now though for Christmas, yay! But not with the fanfiction writing, even better. Had some writers block towards the end, so if it felt poor anyway through, I apologise. Beginning of next chapter should be quite humorous, and then it is off to school. That is going to be fun. Got a lot of things planned for that! Wednesday looks good too, but you don't know about that yet! Please review, as ever. Stitch.


	9. Foogie Tales

**Foogie Tales**

"What are you going to achieve by sitting on it", the Doctor started to ask as they climbed the stairs to the attic, "Ah".

In the middle of Sarah Jane's TARDIS attic, where the room was made even bigger than before, contained in a force field provided by Mr. Smith, was the Foogie. Even though Mr. Smith had given it enough space for its six foot long body and enough for it to feel comfortable, it was still obviously very distressed and was thrashing about. Suddenly it stopped as it realised it had company and stared straight up at the humans, Time Lord and robotic dog.

Its long yellow beak that sprouted out from its skull was slightly open as it was still adjusting to breathing in the oxygen rich air around it. Its large blue eyes that in space would be covered over by a grey third eyelid, blinked up confused at the onlookers, its naivety clearly apparent. Its muscles twitched all along its hardened skin along it back as it flexed its long powerful wings that were more adapt for fast flight in the vacuum of space than being trapped in Sarah Jane's attic. Feathers on the tip of its long slender tail fanned out to make the Foogie look bigger, but this didn't help to warn the Doctor off.

The Doctor took a step forward, and it clenched the long yellow talons on its foot. Sarah slightly winced as it let out a telepathic cry and began to panic once again, thrashing about in Mr. Smith's force field. "Didn't know they made this much noise", Sarah complained as the Doctor slowly stepped back towards them.

"You didn't have a TARDIS in your brain before now did you", the Doctor told her, "Well, maybe a bit, but not enough for you to hear telepathic communication".

"What are we going to do?" Luke asked, "This one is a lot feistier than we have been used to in the past".

"And bigger", Clyde added, "Don't forget bigger".

"Yeah, what happened to the cute little fluffy things?" Rani wondered, remembering the last one she had to sit on, this one would probably require all of them.

"This is a fully grown one Rani", the Doctor said in a hushed voice, indicating that they should start to do the same, "Female as well, so very prone to irrational behaviour".

"Oy", Sarah gave him a playful punch in the arm, "You see what we mean by sitting on it now? Well, only one of us had to do it before, but it makes it a lot easier to teleport to the moon".

"The moon?" the Doctor spun around to look a t his former companion.

"Yes, closest place with solid coordinates for Mr. Smith, and it is in space so it can take off easily enough", she said looking at the Foogie, "Also sitting on it gives us the opportunity to check it over for injury".

"And monitor migration patterns with the aid of a tracking device", K-9 added.

"Yes, and that", Sarah agreed with her dog, "But how are we going to be able to that now? It'll try to kill us if we let it out".

"Maybe..." the Doctor started, there was obviously an ending to that sentence, but he didn't bother to share it as he began to slowly creep towards the Foogie.

"Doctor", Sarah called to him cautiously.

"Stay quiet all of you", he told them as he gave them a quick glance back, "I'm going to see if I can do an Aggedor on him".

"Oh, good luck", she whispered down to him, giving him a comforting smile of encouragement.

As he took the first step, he ran his fingers through his curly grey hair, wondering if this was the best idea. Adult Foogies, when stressed, can be rather entertaining from a daredevil's point of view. He could remember the last time one crossed his path; he was nearly kicked the same distance as to Metebelis Three and back. Although, if you were to ask Sarah Jane, or any of his other companions for that matter of fact, if he was a daredevil, they would most definitely reply that he was. If push came to shove, he could probably give Evil Kenevil a good run for his money.

Stepping to be less than two metres away from the creature, the Doctor raised his right arm and held it steady in the air. His eyes met with the Foogie's, and immediately, everyone noticed how calm it became. "Doctor", Sarah whispered to him, loud enough so he could hear her, "Don't do anything stupid".

"I know", he replied, in his normal voice, "Now I suggest you all look away, especially you Sarah Jane. You know what my hypnosis does to you".

"C'mon you three, eyes shut", Sarah told the rest of the teens, and "You don't want to end up clucking like chickens do you?"

"Not particularly", Luke closed his eyes immediately.

"Could be entertaining", Clyde laughed as he shut his eyes, "Do you think you could teach me once you are finished Doctor?"

"Don't listen to him", Rani jumped in before the Doctor could even reply or Sarah Jane argue, and gave Clyde a small punch in the arm before she closed her eyes.

"All done up there?" the Doctor asked over his shoulder and saw that Sarah was still checking the others over, "C'mon Sarah, you don't want to end up not breathing again do you?"

"Don't even want to think about that", she said quickly as she shut her eyes, "Block your ears too, just to be careful".

The Doctor, sure that all eyes were shut and ears were blocked, took his attentions back to the Foogie which was now in a better in a better state of mind. The Doctor took a step towards it, raising his left arm up to be next to his left. The Foogie, which had no need for verbal communication in space, let out a pitiful cry like a dog in pain as the Doctor got closer. The Doctor began to bend down to the floor, lowering his arms as he went with the Foogie following his height. "Shh, shh", the Doctor said to it as it lay flat to the wooden floorboards, "Mr. Smith, deactivate the force field. K-9, can you come over here please".

The two machines complied, and the shimmering force field Mr. Smith had place around the Foogie dissipated into the air around the space dweller. The TARDIS, for safety reasons, made the attic slightly bigger, and moved all of Sarah's equipment as far away from the Foogie as possible. "K-9, if it shows any sign of agitation, stun it", the Doctor told the metal dog as he stood, "Mr. Smith, I want you to focus on getting that teleport up and running. Use the TARDIS power cells if you need to".

"Thank you Doctor", the computer replied, "Starting up teleport now, locking in on coordinates".

"Good", the Doctor smiled as he ran his hand through his hair again in relief, and tugged his ear as he turned around to face the four teenagers standing with their eyes shut and fingers in ears.

He walked up slowly and quietly to them, and set his course on Sarah Jane in particular. He raised his arms, ready to make her jump, but suddenly, she opened her eyes and swiped his arm away. The look in her eyes was terrifying, and the Doctor had to take a step back as she took a swing at him. "Don't you even think about it mister", she wagged her finger at him; it felt very strange being told off by a teenager.

"But... but how?" the Doctor could not believe that he had failed.

"TARDIS in my head remember", she glared at him, causing him to hide away from her glance.

Knowing that she had won, Sarah Jane took her glance from the Doctor and to the other three beside her. She softly placed her hand on Luke's shoulder, to which he slightly jumped at, and opened his eyes. He first looked to her with a smile, then to the Foogie lying still in the centre of the attic, and then finally to the Doctor who had managed to get himself behind Clyde and Rani. "May I?" he whispered to Sarah and gave her childish schoolboy look, "Please?"

Sarah Jane sighed and looked to Luke. He had a slight smile in the corner of her mouth, and then she knew the answer. Taking her hand to her hips she replied, "Alright, as long as it won't affect the Foogie".

The grin across the Doctor's face could be mistaken as one of evil possession by someone who didn't know what was going on. It spread from one ear to the next like a Cheshire cat's, but both Sarah and Luke knew that that smile would look so much more menacing on the face from yesterday afternoon.

With one hand hovering above Rani's shoulder and the other over Clyde's, the Doctor got ready to pounce. He licked his lips and readjusted his footing before unleashing his evil scheme upon the unsuspecting teenagers. His eyes looked positively evil as he raised his hands to drop them down onto Clyde and Rani's shoulders. Three, two, and one, he dropped his hands down, grasping their shoulders. Clyde jumped nearly forty foot into the air, whilst Rani took evasive action and tried to crop the Doctor. "Doctor?" Rani questioned the figure who had jumped backwards to avoid her leg.

"Didn't know that was going to happen", he replied as he straightened himself up, his hair messed up to say the least.

Sarah Jane and Luke were giggling away like a bunch of children at Rani, Clyde and the Doctor's reactions. "Clyde, you are such a wimp", Luke laughed at his best mate.

"And, Doctor", Sarah Jane continued, "You should have seen your face. Good one Rani".

"Thanks", the girl smiled proudly, "Now, Foogie?"

"Yes", the Doctor agreed with the teen as he marched passed the teenagers to stand before it, "You guys do what you have to do, just don't go sitting on it. Mr. Smith is getting ready to teleport when you say go Sarah, so you better get going".

The four teenagers sprang into action and went straight down to the Foogie. Sarah Jane heard it give out a slight whimper as she bent down next to its head, but it soon quietened when she began to stroke the area above its eyes. Rani went to the long tail, whilst Clyde checked the feet, and Luke inspected the wings. Sarah Jane continued to stroke the beautiful creature's head as they carried out their diagnosis of any injuries on the bird like alien. "K-9, note Foogie number 000137", Luke read out as he found the tracker under the wing, "This is one of Torchwood's".

"Jack will be happy to hear that you are doing well", Clyde laughed as he stood to inspect the other foot, "Is it just me, or does anyone else have the 'she's pregnant' vibe?"

"I was thinking that", Rani agreed, "Slight burning to the feathers, but should harm her flight pattern".

"Beak is fine", Sarah Jane concluded, "Slight chip on the right hand side, but nothing that will affect her in space".

"So, since when have you been doing this guys?" the Doctor asked as he watched his friends get on with their 'job'.

"Oh", Clyde lifted up his head, "Since we first met. But haven't you been doing it longer Sarah Jane?"

"Started back with UNIT, after..." she looked up at the Doctor, before looking back down to the Foogie, "Well, you know. Became the expert on them, using adapted alien tech to send them to the moon, and when I decided guns blazing wasn't for me, I became the external specialist. It was nice to go back there every so often. Then, when Torchwood started up after UNIT basically died out, the old Torchwood by the way, I was hired to sort them out, even though I had to dig up the old UNIT equipment from the seventies to send them home. God, they came to me in one hell of a state, but I never had a fully grown one! Wonder why this one crashed?"

If an outsider had looked upon Sarah Jane then, they would have been confused by this teenager before them; talking with an air of wisdom that seemed wrong to be coming from such a young mouth. The Doctor smiled to himself as he learnt more about Sarah's past that was missing from his knowledge. He knew that if he didn't ask, the deeply secretive journalist would slowly reveal her past to him. "I think she's good to go", Luke announced as he finished taking down the data from the data tracker.

"Okay", Sarah said as she stood slowly from the Foogie, "To the back of the attic all of you. That includes you Doctor".

The Doctor stood to attention and looked towards the older than she looks teenager. She nudged her head towards the back of the TARDIS attic where Luke, Clyde and Rani were now standing. Flying his hands into his pockets, he darted to the back of the attic to stand by the teens. "Mr. Smith, is the teleport ready?" Sarah Jane asked as she too stepped backwards from the Foogie, K-9 backing up with her.

"Yes Sarah Jane", Mr. Smith replied as he brought up a set of graphics detailing the moon, "Would you like to teleport Foogie now?"

"Please Mr. Smith", Sarah Jane replied, like that was the obvious answer.

"Three, two, and one", he said as a light surrounded the Foogie and it disappeared before their very eyes, "Teleport complete Sarah Jane".

"Thank you Mr. Smith", Sarah replied as she sighed in relief that everything was now over.

The TARDIS too seemed to share the same feeling as the room shrunk back to its original TARDIS console room/attic size. The Doctor, hands still in pockets walked over to the console in the middle of the room. He flicked a few switches as the kids came back down from the back of the attic, grabbing a load of spray bottles as they went. "How much disinfectant do you think we need?" Rani asked as she threw Sarah Jane her own bottle.

"Don't know", Sarah replied as she started to spray the spot where the Foogie used to be, "Luke, any estimates?"

"Seeing the Foogie was three times the length and three times the width we are used to, I'd guess six times the amount we would normally use", Luke replied as he looked at the size of the bottles, "So, possibly two full bottles of disinfectant each".

"By the time we're finished, I'll probably never need to bath again", Clyde joked, and looked up to the Doctor who seemed to be off in some sort of dream world inspecting the dials on the console, "Doctor, are you going to join us in blitzing the attic?"

"Blitz", the Doctor looked up quickly, "There is no blitz in this part of history".

"Oh you idiot", Sarah Jane laughed at him, and threw him a bottle.

"We mean clean the attic", Rani joined in.

"Oh, right", the Doctor composed himself, as he set the bottle down on the floor, "Or I could just do this".

And with that, he flicked a switch upon the console. There was a flash of blue light, and the four teens shielded their eyes as it engulfed the attic, making nothing visible through the blinding light. Then, as quickly as it had come, the light faded revealing a cleaner than ever before attic. But that wasn't all. The first thing they all noticed was the very apparent presence of coral columns and metal grating across the floor.

And then there was the big eared big nosed gentleman with short black hair standing in the centre of the attic. He had a large grin upon his face, which quickly changed to that of panic as he looked the kids and the attic over. He began to frisk himself, patting his whole body down at least twice over. "Well, that was some timing and a half", he said sheepishly in a Northern accent, "You sure you're supposed to be forty Sarah Jane?"

Sarah quickly looked herself over. Her body shape had changed; again. She checked her hair, and it had now become a mass of tight curls; the late eighties/early nineties had returned. And it was just as bad the second time around. The teens looked on at her in shock, and she fully understood why; the hair was considerably much scarier to this generation than hers, just like the rest of the fashions that preceded it. "Of course I'm meant to look forty Doctor", she replied as she attempted to flatten down her hair, "Since when have you had a Northern accent?"

"All planets have a North", he replied as he straightened up, "I only asked as you look more like your mid thirties".

"Do I?" Sarah Jane smiled, blushing slightly.

"What's on your head?" Clyde asked as he pulled a confused face.

"Hair", Sarah replied.

"But what happened to it?" Rani asked a bit more specifically.

"I'm guessing that hair changes too, to what it was at the specific ages", the Doctor started to explain; "Your hair was straight until about the eighties I'm guessing Sarah?"

"Yeah", she replied, "Remember my hair when you met me K-9?"

The robotic dog pulled himself forward as he was spoken to. "Yes mistress", he replied simply.

"And...?" Luke egged him on.

"It was fashionable for the time", he replied simply, making everyone in the room laugh.

* * *

Sarah Jane and the Doctor sat down on the living room sofa, mugs of tea in hands, simultaneously, and each gave out a satisfying sigh after taking a sip each. Luke, Clyde and Rani each gave funny glances at each other as they watched the two. It was one of the strangest sights on the planet. Sarah Jane had changed into something more her age now, and closer to what she normally wore too. One thing though that none of them could keep their eyes off though, was Sarah's hair.

She had given it a good brush, which took the worst of the curls out, and it was now acceptable, but still none of them could believe how curly it was. The Doctor had changed into the jeans and shirt he said he had, which did seem to suit this body much more than the suit. The jeans looked rather worn, and the shirt had 'The Angels have the Phone-box' written across it in bold letters. "Sarah, you still make the best cups of tea in the universe", the Doctor commented as he took another sip.

"Lots of practice you see", she smiled at him.

"Must be one of the few things you can make in the kitchen mum without setting it on fire", Luke told her.

"Oy", she gave her son a playful dig, and turned to look back at the Doctor who was staring at her intently with curiosity.

"Are you sure you are meant to be forty?" he asked her again.

"Yes", she replied, "But I would have to say by the hair more like forty-five".

"No way", Rani replied shocked.

"Rani, some people age better than others", Sarah replied, starting to get fed up of this conversation path.

"Yeah, look at the Doctor", Clyde laughed, "When you get fed up, you just get a new body".

"It's not that easy my young Clyde", the Doctor smiled at him, "But I suppose your generalisation just about covers it".

"So, what is the story this time?" Rani asked as she took a sip of her lemonade.

"Story?" the Doctor asked, as he gulped down a mouthful of tea.

"Yeah, what is the cover up for these two?" Clyde said a bit more specifically, pointing his finger back and forth at Sarah and the Doctor.

"Oh", the Doctor looked to Sarah, "Wasn't it that we were going to be your, being proper Sarah, niece and nephew in law, parents to Elisabeth and Sarah Jane Junior".

"Think that was it", Sarah Jane agreed with him, "Big cat specialists or something like that you said to cover our absence, and we are commuting to Longleat every week".

"Cool", Luke smiled, "Do you know anything about cats?"

"I do, but not sure about you Sarah Jane", the Doctor said and looking to her, "How is your knowledge on big cats?"

"I suppose more than the average person after investigating in the Masai Mara for two months back in the eighties for UNIT", she explained them all, the teens mouths all dropping, "But not up to expert standards".

"Right... okay", the Doctor was a bit surprised by that explanation, "Well, we need help from you three for names".

"Us?" Clyde looked almost shocked.

"Yes you", Sarah told them, "We have too many names in our heads for our own good".

"Okay", Rani sat forward, "Who wants to go first?"

Sarah and the Doctor looked at each other, with worried glances on their faces. What had they brought upon themselves? They could end up being named Bill and Ben for all they knew at the time. They looked back at the kids. Clyde had his 'thinking face' on, Luke had gone over to the bookshelf, memorising some names that he could suggest, and Rani had a wonderfully expectant grin upon her face. "I guess I'll go first", the Doctor said as he stood, "Hit me with your worst".

"Mike?" Clyde suggested.

"No, he looks like he would have a longer name than that", Rani told him.

"Kristofferson?" Luke wondered as he looked away from the bookshelf.

"Kristofferson! Where did you get a name like that from?" the Doctor piped up.

"This book", Luke replied as he held up one of Sarah's many books on space and the like.

"Maybe not Luke", Sarah laughed.

"Yeah, you look like somewhere between a Mike and a Krisfofson", Rani pulled a face as she tried to say it.

"Kristofferson", Luke corrected her.

"Yeah, that", Rani smiled, "Guys?"

"Uh, Russell maybe?" Clyde shrugged, seeing as Luke couldn't come up with anything pronounceable by the average human being.

"This you does look like a Russell", Sarah Jane agreed.

"Hmm, the man in the pile of leaves", the Doctor shrugged, making Clyde smile, "Suppose I can live with that".

"Why is Clyde laughing?" Luke asked as he came and sat back down next to his best friend.

"It's a joke" Rani glared at Clyde, "A very bad joke".

"So Sarah Jane", the Doctor smiled as he sat back down next to her, "Your turn".

Sarah stood with a moan, and let the kids have a good look at this her. There were so many names she liked, and so many she disliked. So at least whatever they came up with could only fall into two categories. That would be a good start. "Do you have any preferences?" Rani asked.

"Hey, I didn't get asked that", the Doctor burst out.

"That is because you are you", Sarah Jane told him, to which he shrugged at and sat back, "No alien stuff".

"Okay, that narrows it down", Clyde sighed.

"You're telling me", the Doctor agreed monotone like.

"Do you want traditional or new age?" Clyde joined in.

"New age?" Sarah Jane looked at him confused.

"People have started to name their children after objects and places", Luke told her, "Like Apple, London, Paris to name but a few".

"Now where did you read that?" Clyde asked, as Luke is never the one to know about those sorts of things.

"Rani's magazines" Luke replied simply.

Whilst Rani wondered where and when Luke had read her magazines and Clyde began to questions his best mate's motives, Sarah continued. "Umm, I think I'll stick to traditional", Sarah Jane replied to the original question, "Traditional and quirky".

"If you had a daughter Doctor", Clyde started, causing the Doctor to sit forward in the sofa, "What would you call her?"

"Why do you want to know that?" the Doctor asked, his face revealing his confusion.

"Well, if you think about it", Luke started, "Mum, when she is like this in the story you two have formulated, she is your daughter".

The Doctor thought about it for a moment. As it looked as though her was about to speak, he closed his mouth again, and continued to think. He had no idea what he would call another daughter. There was Jenny of course, and his family back on Galifrey, but the thought of having more children had never occured to him. "To tell you the truth, I have no idea", the Doctor admitted to them, causing them all to sigh back into thought.

"I know exactly what you can be called", Luke jumped up suddenly, and whispered his idea to Rani.

"Oh yeah, and she can act out that personality too", she smiled at him, before passing the name onto Clyde.

As his grin got bigger and bigger, Sarah Jane bent down to the Doctor, "I don't like the look of this".

"Oh, you'll be surprised", he smiled back up at her; his super hearing helping him greatly today as he could hear their whispers loud and clear.

"C'mon then" Sarah urged them as Rani finished telling Clyde the plan, "What is it?"

Luke stood. Seeing as it was his idea, he had the right to tell his mother. Oh, she was going to love this. "I, well, we think, you should be called", he stopped for a dramatic pause, "Lavinia".

"Oh, that is excellent Luke", Sarah said as she went over to him and wrapped her son up into a big hug, "My aunt would be touched if she were here".

* * *

Gita Chandra's curiosity peaked as yet another twosome of the Smith household exited Sarah Jane's house. This time, a woman about or maybe a bit older than she was, and a gentleman with the funniest looking ears she had ever seen. The woman wore almost the exact same thing as Sarah Jane would, come to think of it, so did her other female relatives. Gita began to suppose it was a family thing. The man on the other hand, wore just a simple jeans and shirt.

They were following her daughter out from the house, laughing about something. Gita watched as the boys, Clyde and Luke, disappeared off into Sarah's back yard, and her daughter and the new strangers made their way across the road.

Gita quickly pulled back from her spying position in the bedroom window, smiling as she headed downstairs. "Haresh, we have visitors", she called off to her husband.

"Not more Smiths", he complained from the computer desk in the living room, "I still have a tonne of paperwork to do".

"Oh, shut up and be nice", she told him as she headed towards the front door.

She pulled it open before her daughter even had the chance to lay her hands upon the door knob. Three surprised faces waited for her on the other side, yet all with smiles plastered on their faces. Gita noticed immediately, that the woman looked even more like Sarah Jane than the other two she had met. She began to think Sarah must be cloning herself or something along those lines. "Hi mum", Rani half laughed, obviously still under the influences of whatever they were laughing about as they came across the street.

"Hi", she said enthusiastically back, sticking her hand forward to shake the strangers' hands, "Gita Chandra, Rani's mum. You more Smiths, or have you found a plastic surgeon Sarah?"

The couple laughed slightly, if not a bit awkwardly at Gita's joke. They looked into each other's eyes for just a moment, and Gita could smell the underlying subtext within the look. Even if she didn't know what they were looking at each other for. "Russell Smith", the man shook her hand first, "and this is my wife..."

"Lavinia Smith", she finished for him, "At your service".

"Oh how nice", Gita smiled back, "Do you two want a cuppa?"

"Oh, that will be brilliant thanks", Lavinia replied, whilst Russell rolled his eyes.

* * *

**AN:** A small Christmas present for all you readers out there. I might get the next chapter up before Christmas, but I doubt it. I doubt actually even if there may be a chapter before the New Year. Sorry to anyone who is hooked and wants what comes next soon. Well, a taster is that Sarah and the Doctor have a rather humorous conversation with Haresh and Gita. After that, I think we'll hop straight to school. Sound good to anyone? Please review, as it is Christmas!


	10. Alternative Venusian Aikido

**Alternative Venusian Aikido**

"So your Sarah Jane's parents, yes?" Haresh asked as he sat down on the sofa opposite the pair drinking tea simultaneously.

"Hmm", Russell replied as he raised his eyes from his tea, as if interrupted in thought, "Oh yes, she's a good girl".

His wife smiled at that as she took another sip from her steaming mug. Haresh and Gita were amazed by how similar she was to that young Sarah Jane and that Elizabeth girl too. And the older Sarah Jane as well, it was spooky. Gita smiled at Haresh as the married couple opposite looked into each other's eyes again. "And Elizabeth's?" Gita smiled, "She seemed like a very nice girl".

"Oh she is", Russell smiled again, "And young Harry's a good chap too".

"So, you have been travelling yes?" Gita smiled, trying to start good conversation with them.

"Oh, the others more than us", Russell told them.

"We used to though, didn't we", Lavinia spoke for the first time since entering this house.

"Oh yeah", Russell grinned, "We used to go everywhere".

"So, what do you do now?" Haresh wondered.

"Oh, I'm a big cat specialist", Russell started.

"And I work with Rhinos", Lavinia smiled, and Russell let out a small laugh.

"Rhinos?" Gita raised her eyebrows, "Right... err, how interesting. Did you work in Africa then?"

"Yes, but we are on sort of leave now, aren't we honey", Lavinia attentively touched her husband's arm.

"Yes, we are consulting in Longleat" Russell smiled, "Going to be commuting back and forth. We are heading out later today see, and John suggested that we came and saw you about Sarah Jane before we went".

"Yes, I must say she looks like a very promising student", Haresh started as he looked through a pile of papers, "Good previous reports, and John has promised me that she has excellent skill".

"Oh, her abilities are endless", Russell smiled proudly, looking at his wife, "She may not be as academic as her cousin Luke, but she is a very bright kid".

"And you'll be glad to know Mr. Smith that we have managed to get her a place in each of her three subject choices. Spanish, Geography, and History, together with the triple science award, I have to say very wise choices for one her age", Haresh nodded as he read through the papers.

* * *

As the pair left the house almost an hour later, arm in arm, Sarah Jane could feel a whack for the Doctor coming on. As soon as the Chandra's front door was shut behind them, Sarah Jane removed her arm from the Doctor's and gave him a good slap on the bare skin just below his t-shirt sleeve line. He instantly stopped in his tracks, and rubbed his arm, trying to reduce the pain. "What was that for?" he complained.

"Why didn't you consult me on the GCSE's I would be taking?" she demanded as she made sure they continued this conversation as they crossed the street.

"Aren't you happy with them?" he asked, and stopped rubbing his arm; "We could always go back and change them now".

Sarah Jane sighed. "No, I have had enough Gita for one day", she smiled at him, "And I am happy with them, I just wish you could have consulted me first".

"Well, you were out shopping", the Doctor replied, "And I made sure not only did you get to do subjects I thought you would enjoy and be good at, but also, at least one of the kids will be in every class with you, so you won't be on your own".

"Aw, thanks", Sarah Jane replied, pulling the Doctor in for a moving hug, completely forgiving him, "But, I have to ask, why Spanish? All I know is hola and adios basically".

"Well", the Doctor started as he pushed the front door open, "You have a TARDIS in your head now, which is so clingy she doesn't want to let you go completely. That means that she is going to help you in every way possible, from Maths to languages, and from foreseeing slight dangers to completely irritating me".

"I'm looking forward to that. Who knows you better than I, than your home", Sarah Jane laughed as she entered the downstairs hallway, "She probably knows more things about you, than anything you would ever tell me about yourself".

"Every journalist's dream", the Doctor mumbled as Sarah continued walking into the front room, where Luke was reading over some work, "Knowing everything about your subject".

Luke looked up as his mother walked in with a smile on her face. She had that 'got a story' look, but she hadn't been anywhere. And then the Doctor slumped in, and gave up halfway, preferring to just lean up against the doorframe. He had a gloomy look on his face, and seemed to be regretting something. "Hey", Sarah Jane said enthusiastically as she sat down next to the boy, "How's the park?"

"Clyde tried to teach me football again", he sighed as he closed the book.

"What's so bad 'bout that?" the Doctor wondered.

"Luke doesn't understand it", Sarah Jane answered for her son, "Neither do I really".

"It's not that hard", the Doctor grinned.

"I do understand it, it just seems to be a waste of time in my opinion", Luke responded, "Plus the weather conditions were not correct today".

"Oh, the weather always helps", the Doctor agreed, "Tell you what, why don't you come and help me with your mother's old car this afternoon, hey?"

"My old car?" Sarah Jane asked as Luke's face lit up, "When did you even get a chance to see my old car?"

"Oh, you would be surprised", the Doctor winked at her, "You don't mind though do you?"

"No, not at all", Sarah smiled, "Makes a nice change from you working on the TARDIS".

* * *

Sarah Jane smiled as she looked across the garden at her son and the Time Lord, trying their best to fix up the old yellow Volkswagen Beetle. She had always planned to get it fixed up, sooner or later, and now she was saving money by throwing a Time Lord at it. Sadly though, by doing that, he will probably give it improvements years ahead of the Earth. Giving her K-9 was bad enough.

Speaking of the dog, he then rumbled out from the kitchen, pulling a small trolley behind him. He crossed the patio to the garden table Sarah Jane was sat at, and parked next to her. On the small trolley, were a jug of water, and a collection of glasses. He was just like a little robot butler. "Thank you K-9", Sarah told him as she reached over and unhooked the dog from the trolley.

"You're welcome Mistress", he barked back at her, "Is there anything else you require?"

"No K-9", Sarah Jane smiled down at him as she patted him on the head.

"Affection noted", he said as he rolled under the table and shut himself off for now.

Sarah Jane poured herself a jug of water and looked around her garden. Today's earlier rain, or rather drizzle had disappeared, and it had turned into a lovely afternoon. Her flowers looked just as lovely as ever, although her grass could do with cutting probably sometime during the week. It was acceptable for now though.

Her thoughts then turned to the Foogie earlier today. They never, ever had an adult crash-land before. It had always been youngsters. And so far, no youngsters, not even a single report of one crash-landing anywhere across the globe. It was strange, because at least by now, Torchwood would have reported in several, and Jack and his team would be working at full capacity trying to keep the rift in order, and collecting various Foogies from across Wales. Sarah Jane was in charge of London, and UNIT had to cope with the rest of the UK.

But they had to phone her in to switch on the teleporting technology; otherwise things could get out of hand. Back in the seventies, her and Harry, after acquiring the technology from a crashed spaceship, had fiddled about with it so that only Sarah Jane's TARDIS key could switch the teleporter on. Sarah Jane kept reminding herself why they had done that, by using the image of the moon being colonised by the human race. That, according to the Doctor, shouldn't happen for a number of years yet, so she was trying to keep Earth's technology timeline running as it should.

She would be expecting the call from the Brig any day now, seeing as he was the only one authorised to speak to her in UNIT these days, besides Martha. In fact, she should have had the call by now. So where were all the crashing baby Foogies? And why was it that that adult crashed? Those questions, and many more remained unanswered as the Doctor came to Sarah Jane's attention one more.

There was a loud crash from her garage, and then the Doctor swore. She hoped it was alien, so Luke didn't understand, but she knew she did. Thank you TARDIS. Luke then came out laughing, covered in oil splatters. Thankfully, he had changed into some older clothing before starting.

Then the Doctor came out, his face covered in oil, and Sarah Jane covered her mouth, hoping that the Doctor didn't see her laughing. His nose looked even bigger, as the oil collected together around the base, and droplets of the black substance were dripping off from the lobs of his big ears."Bloody machine", he grumbled as he wiped his hands down on his jeans, "Why did you buy such a monstrosity Sarah?"

"You said it was a thing of beauty five minutes ago", Luke reminded him.

"Yeah, well, that was five minutes ago", the Doctor argued, as he poured himself as glass of water, "So, any idea's on dinner yet?"

"It's only..." Sarah Jane started surprised, but then looked to her watch, "Half past five. Suppose we better have something to eat".

"I wouldn't mind seeing what else is in that TARDIS fridge that we now have", Luke suggested.

"Sounds good", the Doctor answered, "But sadly, I don't feel like dealing with anymore machines today that can't talk, and we can't let your mum cook otherwise she'll burn the place down".

"Oy!" Sarah Jane smiled and half laughed.

"Fair enough", Luke agreed with the Doctor, "Do you have any idea's mum?"

"Well, if we had a fully functioning TARDIS, I would have suggested we pop somewhere and get a takeaway", Sarah Jane said as she watched the Doctor drink a whole glass of water in one gulp.

"We could still do that", Luke told her.

"How?" the Doctor wondered, "Have you figured out a way to fix this mess?"

"No", Luke laughed, "But there is always the chip shop down the road".

* * *

One minute, she was in as deep and peaceful of a sleep you could possibly get. The next, she was being woken up by a very over enthusiastic Doctor. He ripped open the curtains to let the summer's morning light flood into her bedroom, blinding poor Sarah Jane as it all happened. She groaned as she rolled over onto her stomach, and hid her head underneath her pillows. "Ten more minutes Doctor", she complained at him.

"Nope, now is a good as ever", he told her; "You may as well get up now, seeing as you are awake".

"Give me five minutes, and I can be back asleep", she almost growled at him.

The Doctor sat down on the end of her bed with a sigh. He had been all dressed and ready to go since five in the morning. It had taken a lot of effort and then some to get the oil off of his face last night, and the pleasant feeling of having probably one layer of skin scrubbed off had passed onto this body this morning. "Aw, c'mon Sarah Jane", he poked her leg; "You'll be late for your first day of school otherwise".

"Good, they might see it as a protest of me having to get up so early", she grumbled.

"Oh, Sarah, Sarah, Sarah", he sighed, shaking his head.

She sat up slightly, and took the pillow from her head. Her hair was now in a worse mess than it had been before. "There is no need to use my name three times", she told him.

"I'm sad it had to come to this my dear", he told her.

Sarah Jane turned her head to look at him. He was smiling, but this smile made Sarah Jane feel uneasy. She remembered how this Doctor always managed to do the unexpected. Actually, all of them did, but she recognised this one's tone. Something was going to go down, and most probably involved her.

Before she could have another thought on the matter, she felt a cold hand touch her bare foot at the end of the bed. Naturally she jumped sky high and out of the bed. The Doctor just laughed at her as hard as he could. "What Venusian Aikido move was that", she demanded at him.

"Cold hand meets warm foot", the Doctor replied smiling and standing, before heading out, "C'mon, get dressed. Breakfast is in ten minutes"

Sarah Jane watched him leave her room. God, he was annoying some times. Suddenly, her alarm went off, and she sighed. She could have had at least two more minutes sleep. Giving up on her lie in, Sarah turned her attentions to her bed and pulled back the covers. At least her curtains were open, one less job for her to do before breakfast.

She then walked, or rather shuffled over to her wardrobe as her tired feet felt almost like led. As she opened the wooden doors, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Her now newly awoken eyes locked straight onto the school uniform that the TARDIS had very nicely made for her. This was going to be interesting.

Once dressed, Sarah Jane looked at herself in the mirror. For some reason, she didn't feel as though she looked as good as Rani did in hers. For some reason, her tie was much longer, and it didn't help that her hair was complete mess. That was quickly sorted out by a quick brush of the hair. Rani had informed her they could get away with some slight makeup. A little lippy and some eyeliner was probably enough, and then Sarah Jane looked at herself again.

She nodded with approval, and was satisfied that her heels made her feel much taller. The only problem still was her tie. Rani could probably help with that on the way to school. Looking over to her back, she made sure she had everything. Whilst eating their chips last night, Mr. Smith printed off some fake notes, so it looked as though she had been learning. She packed the ones that she had on the timetable Haresh had kindly brought over last night, and also a notebook just in case.

Finally, even though the Doctor told her not to, she packed her sonic lipstick. She knew he would be taking his screwdriver, so why couldn't she take her lipstick. One last thing she needed to complete her new schoolgirl look; her watch. She doubted she would need it for alien hunting in Park Vale. That was long over, but she still needed a watch.

Satisfied that she was finally ready, she slung her new bag over her shoulder and headed downstairs. For some reason, it was all quiet when she went downstairs. Normally, on schooldays, Luke had the news on. Not that he particularly watched it, he just enjoyed having it on in the background, and Sarah Jane didn't pay too much attention to it either. She had trained her brain to listen out for interesting things, and discard the rest.

But there was no sound, not even the voice of the BBC One Breakfast presenters. Just silence. And with the Doctor in the house, this was even more suspicious. As she walked into the front room, she discovered that it was empty, bar three schoolbags and a leather satchel on her armchair ready to leave the house. Sarah Jane sighed. Of course, they all wanted to see her in her school uniform. She remembered making a fuss out of Luke's first day at Park Vale, and now they were giving her the same treatment.

She placed her bag down next to the rest, and walked into the kitchen. The first person she saw, was the Doctor, perched arms crossed on her kitchen work surface, grinning. He was dressed back in his newly chosen outfit, but now wore a dark blue shirt instead of the red he had on Saturday. Sitting at the table, were the kids, all smiling too. A breakfast consisting of toast and fruit was laid out before them. "Wow", Clyde grinned.

"You look amazing mum", Luke added.

"Yes you do Sarah Jane", Rani joined in.

"Thanks guys", Sarah replied, "But this tie is getting on my nerves. It seems much longer than yours".

"Here, let me help with that", Rani said as she jumped up from the table, and went immediately to shortening it, whilst the Doctor walked over to them from his perch.

Rani stood back to admire her amazing work on Sarah Jane's tie. Sarah Jane picked the tie up and twiddled it around in her fingers. Yep, she was completely satisfied now that she looked the part of comprehensive school. She looked up to find the Doctor standing where Rani had been moments ago. "Well, let's have a good look at you", he raised his eyebrow, "Turn around on the spot".

Sarah Jane complied. "What do you think 'Grandfather'?" she smiled at him as she gave him a twirl.

"Oh, please don't call me that", he complained as he stopped her.

"Well, what else is she going to call you?" Clyde wondered, "Bamps?"

"I can live with that", the Doctor agreed, "Now then breakfast. I want your first day at Park Vale to be just as good as this lot".

Everyone choked and spluttered at his comment. Rani, Luke and Clyde broke out into a smile, and a very worrying thought crossed Sarah Jane's mind. The Doctor just looked at them all in wonder. What was the matter with them; it was just the first day of school. "What did I say?" he asked.

"You really want to know?" Rani smiled.

The Doctor returned with a nod. "Mine and Clyde's first day in Park Vale, we were attack by Slitheen", Luke laughed.

"And they turned off the sun", Clyde added.

"And my first day, we were attacked by a killer clown, and the second day, the whole school walked out", Rani continued.

"Oh", the Doctor took a slow sip from his tea and four sugars, "Not an average school then?"

"Nope", the three agreed with him.

"But, thankfully there hasn't been any alien activity in a while", Sarah Jane informed them all as she finished a piece of toast.

"Ah, that might not be such as good thing", the Doctor reminded her; "It could mean that they are hatching a plan and will all jump out at you at the same time".

"It could", Sarah Jane nodded, "Or we are just too good at our job".

"Don't be cocky now you", the Doctor tapped her on the nose, before looking at his watch, "If we are walking, I suggest leaving in the next five minutes would be a good idea".

The rest of them examined the time, and each of the four teens took a simultaneous sip from each of their juice glasses. Clyde reached into his pocket and handed each Rani a piece of gum whilst Sarah Jane and Luke ran to the downstairs bathroom to clean their teeth. Clyde offered the Doctor a piece of gum, but he ended up taking the whole packet from him and shoving the remaining pieces into his mouth all at the same time.

As they headed back into the living room to gather their things, Sarah Jane and Luke came back from cleaning their teeth, pulling their jackets on. Luke had one arm through his denim jacket, whilst Sarah Jane was tying up the belt on her leather jacket. Rani was quick to put of her blue hooded jacket, whilst Clyde was already wearing his red jumper. The Doctor on the other hand, produced a black coat, similar to his grey one that Sarah Jane was going to allow him to wear, and now had his fedora upon his head. "Where did you get that coat?" Sarah Jane asked as she put her bag upon her back.

"In the closest", the Doctor responded like she should have know the answer, and then suddenly produced a cane, "Now, Allons-y?"

* * *

Park Vale was a shock to the Doctor. Deffry Vale had obviously changed his perspective on schools. They were well ordered robots compared to this lot. Footballs flew over his head, children darted and crisscrossed in front of him left right and centre, and the noise levels were atrocious. How could anybody learn in this environment?

He had had many strange looks thrown at him as they all walked through the car park/school yard. Number one, he was a strange new teacher that none of them had ever seen before, and two, he was apparently with 'the weirdos' he had over heard someone say. The Doctor smiled. Weird was good, different.

"Ah, Mr. Smith", he heard someone call from behind.

The five of them stopped and turned to find Haresh Chandra smiling walking towards them. "Morning sir", Clyde smiled at his favourite head teacher.

"Langer", Haresh nodded back, "Go along to class would you".

Clyde saluted and started to walk backwards, Rani joining him, "See ya later sir".

Luke started to walk off, but soon found a hand on his shoulder. The Doctor gave him a look which he understood straight away; stay. Sarah Jane would still need help finding her way to the form room, and it was safer if the Doctor had a familiar face around him for a moment whilst he thought up a plan of attack. "So, Mr. Smith, you ready to take on the year elevens?" Haresh smiled at him.

"Well, they can't be as bad as the hoards of Genghis Khan. Never could get the arrow out of the blasted door. Took a good ten years to knock it out of place, and even then it left a mark", the Doctor started on a trail of thought, and then shut up as he remember he was in the company of one who knew not of his adventures.

"Right..." Haresh was a little bit speechless, and then looked to Sarah Jane, "You must be the infamous second Sarah Jane Smith".

"Second..., oh yes. Great Aunt Sarah Jane being the first, now I get it", Sarah Jane shook Haresh's hand, but stopped when Luke coughed; social mistake according to Clyde. Never shake a teacher's hand in public.

"Right then Luke, why don't you help your cousin settle in, and I'll take your uncle here and show him the ropes", Haresh smiled.

"Yes sir", Luke replied, "Come along Sarah Jane".

As Luke started walking off, Sarah Jane stood still a moment. She raised her eyebrows and smiled, slowly turning and walking to catch up with her son. She was going to have to get used to that. The Doctor smiled at his companion. Oh this was going to be immense fun. "Now then, Mr. Smith, if you'll follow me", Haresh started, as he gestured for the Doctor to follow him into the school.

"Dr. Smith actually, and it's John", the Doctor corrected Haresh, "No need for formalities among teachers. You aren't my student Haresh".

"Quite", Haresh agreed, as he pushed the door open and let the Doctor walk through.

"Oh no, you first Haresh", the Doctor insisted.

Haresh nodded, before walking into the building first. Some old habits for the Doctor were going to die hard. Especially in this body.

* * *

"So, who is our form tutor?" Sarah Jane asked Luke as they walked down the corridor.

"Mr. Cunningham", Luke replied, "He is really nice".

"Oh, that's good", Sarah Jane nodded as she followed her son around a corridor and down another hall, and added, "How long does registration last?"

"Until five to nine", Luke replied, "But on Thursdays, we have pastoral, and that ends at quarter to ten, like the rest of the classes in the week".

"So, six fifty minute lessons a day?" Sarah Jane confirmed with him.

"Yep", Luke replied as he stopped at a door, "Here we are".

Sarah Jane looked into the room. She could see a teacher's desk, but nobody sat at it. There was some noise coming from within. She looked to Luke, who smiled and walked in. Sarah Jane slowly followed him in, and immediately felt overwhelmed. There were about twenty or so teens sitting on or at desks dotted around the classroom. They were clustered together so it was six pupils to a desk. There was a group of boys on one, and they paid no attention to her whatsoever as she followed Luke across the classroom. They seemed too preoccupied with a sports magazine they were all hovering around.

On her right was a table of girls, and they all glanced up at Sarah Jane as she passed them. They were all wearing way too much makeup. All over the limit Rani had said they were allowed to wear, and all of them wore excessive amounts of jewellery on their arms. As quickly as they had glanced up to give her quick once look over, they returned back to painting their nails.

At the back of the classroom, there were two more tables. Sitting at one was a cluster of pupils. Four boys and three girls, and they were all laughing their heads off. One of the boys wore a hat on his head, and seemed slightly different from the others. There seemed to be a grace about his face that Sarah Jane couldn't put her finger on.

Finally, on the final table sat Rani and Clyde, deep in conversation. They smiled as they saw Luke and Sarah Jane approach, and stopped whatever they were discussing. Clyde had his artwork out, and it looked as though he had been flicking through it, just checking that it was still there. Rani on the other hand, had what looked like a school planner out in front of her.

Luke sat down in one of the seats, and Sarah Jane went to sit in the chair next to him, but there was a bag on the blue plastic chair. Deciding it would be rude to move a bag that didn't belong to her, she settled for sitting on the opposite side of the desk. This was better for her, as she now had her back to the wall and could see the entire classroom. "We were wondering where you two had gotten to", Clyde announced.

"The Doctor grabbed me by the shoulder, as he wanted mum to officially meet Mr. Chandra, and she would be lost otherwise", Luke answered as he smiled at Sarah Jane sitting opposite him.

"You going to have to stop calling me that Luke", Sarah Jane whispered at him, "I'm not your mum here remember".

"Sorry", Luke replied.

"Right, seeing as you are now in our domain, we have to give you a nickname", Clyde smiled.

"What?" Sarah Jane looked at him shocked.

"Just go along with it", Rani told her, "If we give you a nickname now, it stops the Barbie dolls or the Wayne Roonies over there giving you a horrific one. We still call each other by our real names, but they just have a fascination with calling people by nicknames. I'm Ni in conversation with them".

"And for some reason I'm Sky or Luke-y boy", Luke added, "Mostly Luke-y boy, and only Clyde calls me Sky. I don't understand the Sky name".

"Sky as in Skywalker, as in Luke Skywalker, as in Jedi, as in Star Wars", Clyde tried to explain, "How many times do I have to have to explain to you. And I'm Clydy, Clydo, and even Obi Wan sometimes".

"Only you call yourself that", Rani laughed at him.

"Well", Clyde was defeated, "What would you like Sarah Jane? We refer to you here as SJ, just to keep things simple".

"I think we'll stick with that", Sarah Jane nodded, "I suppose it isn't as bad as my nickname from my first run in school".

"You had a nickname?" Luke smiled at his mother.

"Yes", Sarah Jane replied, "It was 'Specks', as I always had to wear my glasses when reading, and I still have to".

"Your generation wasn't particularly inventive were they", Clyde laughed.

"No, not really", Sarah Jane replied as she took out her new glasses and put them on ready as she examined her timetable, "Although, my old ones were twice the size of these".

Sarah Jane turned her attention to her timetable. She had Spanish first with Rani, then Maths. After that was break, followed by English and then Physics, which was going to be really fun, followed by lunch. After that was History with Luke, and then to finish off the day was Biology. Her first day looked rather full.

* * *

**AN:** Hey look at that, an update. And we are in school finally. The structure is based on what I can remember from my GCSE days. Oh, I miss them dearly. Any who, a review would be nice, as I haven't had one since LAST YEAR! Well, alright, it was only just over a month ago, but still. Next chapter will be the rest of registration, a small fragment of Spanish, basically the whole of the Physics lesson, a good portion of lunch and a bit of History. A lot to fit into one chapter I know, but it may end up being two. You never know. Again, please review! Stitch.


	11. The Staff and Students of Park Vale

**The Various Staff of Park Vale and Their Students**

"And this is the Science Tech Room", Haresh smiled at the Doctor as he pointed at a dark brown door with a small window, "Home Base for you".

There was a light coming through the glazed glass, and the Doctor could see people moving about in the room. Hopefully these teachers weren't too stupid. He took a slight sniff. He could definitely smell many chemicals on the other side of the door, noting to harmful. The biggest explosion he could probably create without of the use of the gas taps would be only enough to dent the floor. Possibly partially deafen people. Normal people would consider his thoughts at the present to be very suspicious, but this was the Doctor. He was thinking up any and all escape routes in case of alien attack. No matter where he or his companions seemed to go, they could find aliens seeking world domination.

Haresh pushed the door open, and revealed the room to be much bigger than the Doctor had initially thought it to be. It was like its own little classroom in itself, with various doors leading off to the side. There were about ten or so desks dotted around the room, each full with papers and supporting a computer. At the back were a couple of dingy old sofas that looked well used. There was the evident smell of coffee, mixed in with the various chemicals, along with the smell of the age that went with some of the equipment.

Sitting on the sofas, all with a plastic cup of coffee or tea in their hands were eight teachers, four ladies and four gentlemen. The women took up the sofas whilst the guys were perched on desks or leaning up against walls. They all looked up and over to Haresh and the Doctor as they entered. "Morning all", Haresh smiled, "This is Dr. John Smith, he is covering for Kate until we can find somebody more permanent".

"Odd how she won the lottery", one of the men said, "She never played, said it was a waste of time".

"People can always surprise you", the Doctor smiled, "I experience it frequently".

"Well", Haresh said after a moment of silence, "I leave you in their capable hands".

"See you later Haresh, perhaps you can come over for tea. I'm sure my sister wouldn't mind, and the kids seem to be getting on swimmingly already".

"I'll mention it to Gita", Haresh nodded, before turning off and heading down the hall.

The Doctor turned and smiled at the group of young teachers. Of course he was the oldest there, but now he looked the part. The oldest out of them had to be at least thirty five forty, and now there was this tall grey haired elderly gentleman with a cane he didn't need in a fedora, coat and suit, smiling at them over enthusiastically. Oh, and he was on first name terms with the head, five minutes into the job, and inviting him over for tea. "Morning", the Doctor greeted them all.

"Hi", one of the women stood up and started to walk over to him to shake his hand. She had long blonde hair, was rather tall, and had purple framed glasses. "I'm Chloe Griffiths, Head of Chem. This lot call me Griff for short, you can too. I'm so glad they could find you so quickly. I was going to have to cover Kate until they found you, so thank you so much".

The Doctor had to stop and take the information in. It was said at a faster speed than he could ever accomplish. Even in one of his rants. "John Smith", he shook her hand, "And you are welcome. Astrology is my specialist subject".

"Well, you are the first", the gentleman who had spoken before said. He was a similar build to his tenth body; tall and skinny, but dark skinned with combed forward black hair. "Ian by the way, Kate was a Geophysicist, I'm nuclear physicist, and Mark there is an Electronics expert".

'Mark' waved. He was a short fellow, propping himself upon a doorframe. And one thing about him made the Doctor, green-eyed with jealousy. He was ginger, and not just any ginger, as ginger as you could get ginger. "Griff is a biochemist", Griff smiled as the Doctor looked at her as Ian explained, "Meg used to work for a drugs company developing new products", he pointed at probably the oldest next to the Doctor, a slightly plump woman with greying brown hair, "Jason is a Geologist", a average height bald man waved, "Sid is an qualified vet", the last man smiled, messy blonde hair with a very casual look, "Andrea is a dermatologist", this woman looked like she was a beautician rather than a scientist, "and Babs is a horticulturist", the last staff member waved after pushing a strand of her strawberry blonde fringe out of her face.

The Doctor mentally sighed as he looked over his new co-workers. He could tell this was going to be fun. "Well, it is a pleasure to meet you all", the Doctor told them all, "Now, I've been promised a desk".

"Over here", Sid pointed to the desk opposite him, "Kate was so desperate to get away, she came and cleared her desk yesterday".

"Thank you", the Doctor said as he put his satchel down on the wooden desk.

He had had smaller, and it wasn't like he was going to be here for long. There was already paperwork on the end, and his computer was switched on ready for him to use. One thing he didn't miss about working for UNIT was the paperwork. At least this paperwork shouldn't be as tedious.

A bell suddenly rang, and the Doctor looked up. Four short consecutive bells, all one second after each other. His colleagues all put down their coffees and began rushing about. He watched as Griff collected up a load of paperwork, and Babs tucked a newspaper under her arm. "You are going to be okay for half an hour?" Mark asked, "We have registration, and then you should have company for first lesson".

"Oh yes I'm fine", the Doctor responded.

"You can try and learn our names whilst we are gone", Jason laughed.

"Griff, Ian, Mark, Meg, Jason, Sid, Andrea, and Babs", the Doctor recited in the order he had learnt them, making them all stop and stare, "I have a really good memory".

"Okay", Meg stretched out before they all disappeared in through one of the various doors.

The Doctor stretched back in his chair, after removing his coat, hat, and hanging up his cane and clicked his fingers. This was going to be fun. He looked over to the computer. Primitive thing. He had had enough of Sarah Jane's laptop and computer over the past few days. Not Mr. Smith, the computer sitting on her desk. He had 'tweaked' it a little. She wouldn't mind. And so, that was what he decided he would do next.

He reached into his pocket and took out his sonic screwdriver. One quick aim at the console, and the screen flashed in front of him. He just had to remember now once he was finished her to return it back to its normal state.

* * *

Sarah Jane looked back up from her timetable to find the three kids in deep conversation about something. She smiled, and had a quick look around at her classmates. They were an odd looking bunch, segregating off into small groups. They all looked so relaxed, which was miles off what she had when she was in Comprehensive. They all sat in rows, had to stand when a teacher entered, and then there was the cane.

Sarah smiled as she watched Rani laugh at another one of Clyde's jokes, whilst Luke just didn't get it. Knowing that there wasn't any attention being brought to herself, Sarah Jane slowly moved her hand into her lap and flipped open the catch of her watch. Thankfully it was on silent, so nobody could hear her scanning. She thought she saw it blip for a slight second, but then the result came back that there was no alien tech, bar the sonic screwdriver. The Doctor had adjusted her watch so now on the small map that the watch produced, wherever the sonic screwdriver was, an image of the Doctor's face sat over the area, and wherever the TARDIS was, there was the small image of the police box. "Old habits die hard, huh Sarah Jane?" she heard Rani say, and Sarah quickly snapped the watch shut.

"Sorry", Sarah Jane apologised, "Yes, old habits do die hard. For example, as we speak, the Doctor is 'improving' the school's computer system".

"Typical", Clyde huffed as he sat back.

"Absolutely typical", Sarah quoted an old friend when in reference to the Doctor.

Suddenly, a man walked into the classroom. He was a tall man, with balding hair and big ears. The smile on his face made Sarah relax a little. He was obviously Mr. Cunningham, as all the students slid down into their chairs. The boy wearing the red beanie hat that was sitting on the opposite table finished up with his mates, and then went to sit down in the chair next to Luke as Mr. Cunningham switched on the computer. "Alright Maxxy?" Clyde asked the boy as he sat down at the table.

"Yeah", he smiled, "Apparently one of the physics teachers one the lottery over the weekend".

"Weird, isn't it", Rani raised her eyebrows and smiled.

"I know", this Maxx agreed, "And now they have some old dude to replace him, did you see him this morning?"

"Dunno", Clyde shrugged, and a grin spread across Luke's face, "Might have".

"And, word is we have a new girl in our year", Sarah Jane raised her eyebrows as she sat back in her seat, obviously she was invisible at the moment, "Finny said he saw her walking in with the dude this morning".

"And what would this girl happen to look like?" Luke semi-laughed.

"Brown hair, short", Maxx described, "According to him, she is really hot".

Sarah Jane felt touched. _If only the boy knew that he was being turned on by a middle aged woman_, Sarah Jane thought as she laughed at the thought. Maxx snapped his head towards her as he heard her laugh. Rani, Luke and Clyde all started to laugh along with Sarah Jane, as they watched all emotion and colour drain away from Maxx's already pale face. "Sarah Jane Smith", Sarah reached across and shook his hand, "It is a pleasure to meet you".

"Maxx Lopez", he shook her hand back, still in shock from his failure, "Sorry, I didn't see you".

"Oh no, it's fine", Sarah replied, "It's nice to know that you all seem to like me so far. Well, Finny at least".

"Good Morning everyone", Mr. Cunningham started, and everyone silenced, "I hope you are all revising seeing as we only have four weeks left until you all go on study leave.

"Right then, down to business. For the final part of the year, we have the privilege to be joined by a new student. Miss Smith, can you make your presence known to me please?"

Sarah Jane took a breath and raised her hand. Mr. Cunningham searched the class, and then found what he was looking for. He had a good long look at Sarah Jane, and so did the rest of the class; especially those who hadn't noticed her entrance five minutes ago. She couldn't remember ever feeling this terrified in all her life. The situation she was in now made the Daleks look like cute little kittens to the judging faces of her peers.

"Now, I want you all to welcome Miss Smith with open arms. A new school is daunting at the best of times, but even more so when you have the pressures of GCSE's looming over your heads", Mr. Cunningham explained to them all, "Now, Mrs Kirk is arranging a trip to the new Dermatology Testing Facility and Factory for later next week. A letter will be sent around, and if you are interested in going, you need to return the permission slip as soon as possible.

"In other news, we have finally won a football match..." there was a round of applause from everyone, even Luke, "... and the next match is at home, so Mr. Chandra has asked if you could all be on your best behaviour for it.

"Time for the register, but Miss Smith you haven't been added to the database, so Mr. Chandra has asked in future could you go and check in with him before coming here. Okay?" Mr. Cunningham told her.

"Yes sir", she smiled back at him, and the class returned to a more acceptable noise level.

Slight mummers came from her peers as they discussed her arrival. It seemed to be that other than the football, all students were concerned over was any intruders into their normally well ordered society. Sarah Jane looked back to Luke who was giving her encouraging thumbs up, but her attention was side tracked by the strange look she was getting from Maxx. "Have we met before?" Maxx wondered.

"Not that I'm aware of", Sarah Jane replied.

"She is my cousin", Luke jumped in, "So there could be some familiarity there".

"Oh God, not more Smiths", Maxx laughed.

"Just think how we feel mate", Clyde sighed, "It also gets worse. The new teacher is her granddad and the entire Smith family has decided to pop in for a visit".

"They have just about basically invaded Bannerman Road", Rani added.

"Oy", both Sarah Jane and Luke stood up for themselves.

"Well, its true", Rani responded sinking down into her seat, "You even have Jack coming down on the weekend".

"Hey", Sarah Jane started, "It's not my fault. It was the Doctor who invited Cardiff's most destructive seven year olds, not me, I was unconscious, and you could have easily stopped him".

"Cardiff's most destructive seven year olds?" Maxx raised his eyebrows, "Do I even want to know?"

"Not unless you are planning on meeting Martha and Mickey", Luke told him.

"Luke", Sarah Jane hissed at him, she was not having more people in the house.

Suddenly, a bell rang out in the corridor, and everyone began to gather up their things. First lesson was beginning. This was going to be very interesting. Sarah Jane picked up her bag, and began to follow Rani out of the classroom. Luke and Clyde waved them off as they headed down the corridor in the opposite direction.

Sarah paid close attention as to where they were going. They soon left the main building, and Rani led her out over onto a path. The girls seemed to be heading for a sort of gym like building. Sarah Jane remembered about possibly reporting on the construction of this Sports Hall last year, but then yet another alien invasion popped up so somebody else beat her to it.

Soon, Sarah was aware that they were being followed. A quick sneaky glance over her shoulder confirmed her suspicions. Maxx was a few paces behind them, not particularly focused on anything. "Is Maxx in our Spanish class then?" Sarah asked Rani.

"Uh, yes", Rani replied, stopped and turned to face the boy in question, "Hey Maxx, did you do that sheet?"

"What..." Maxx said surprised, "Oh yeah, Pipsqueak, you?"

"It was alright", Rani shrugged as they continued to walk on, "Realised how much I had forgotten".

"Same here, but nothing a good look over couldn't fix", Maxx smiled, "Are you in our Spanish class then Sarah Jane?"

"Unless there is another Spanish class at this time, I guess I am", she replied.

"How much do you know", she heard him ask as they reached the large white building.

"Oh, this and that", Sarah Jane shrugged, "But I haven't spoke it for years".

She was then very much aware as she walked up the metal steps to the first floor that she was walking on her own. Stopping and turning at the dog's leg, she found that Rani and Maxx had stopped halfway up the first flight. The blank expressions on their faces didn't comfort Sarah Jane much. "What now?" she asked with a sigh.

"Do you know what you just said?" Rani asked her.

"Yes", Sarah responded like it was a stupid question.

"And that was Spanish, yes" Maxx asked.

"No it..." Sarah was cut off very quickly by Rani.

"Yes it was", Rani smiled, "Sarah Jane is very good at Spanish. I just need to show her where the loo is, and we will be on in. Okay".

Maxx nodded and continued on up the stairs. Other students were giving them odd looks as they passed the two year elevens at a standstill halfway up the stairs. Rani grabbed Sarah by the wrist, and dragged her back down the stairs. Sarah Jane pulled back as soon as they reached the floor, and watched as Rani walked under the metal stairs. "What did you just say to us?" she asked Sarah in hushed tones.

"That I haven't spoken any Spanish for a while", Sarah Jane replied, "It was in plain and simple English, not Spanish".

"Well, I heard Spanish", Rani raised an eyebrow, "And so did Maxx".

"Damn", Sarah said as she slapped her hand against her forehead, "The TARDIS is in my head, and is translating all languages for me. I guess she decides what language I'm to respond in too".

"You know, if the exam board found out about this, they would call it cheating", Rani crossed her arms over her chest.

"And how are they going to prove it?" Sarah Jane pointed out, "It would sound ridiculous if they started to accuse students of using alien technology, wouldn't it, although it wouldn't have been for the first time".

"I suppose", Rani agreed, "But it's not fair".

"Life's not fair", Sarah responded, "The only reason I'm here is because of the TARDIS, and do you think I'm doing it on purpose?"

"No", Rani responded quietly.

"Good", Sarah Jane smiled, "Well, c'mon then. I'm dying to absolutely fry you teacher's brains with TARDIS power".

* * *

"So, John", Ian started as he perched himself on the end of the Doctor's desk, "How long have you been teaching?"

"Well, this is my first professional job since probably the late seventies", the Doctor answered truthfully, smiling as he remembered how he abandoned UNIT, "but when I was teaching full time, I managed a good ten years".

"And then what did you do?" Andrea wondered.

It turned out the Doctor had company from one of each of the science departments. Ian, Andrea and Meg, with the women sitting at their desks, typing away furiously and still being able to keep up a decent conversation, and Ian filing various folders on the shelves dotted around the room. The Doctor found himself starting to like these three, and no doubt he would like the others too.

"Well, I went and did the normal thing and start a family. I now have a daughter, and two beautiful grandchildren, and with any luck in the next year a great grandchild", the Doctor smiled at the imaginary family he had made in his mind, "My wife and I travelled, but now she is gone, I've decided to settle down before moving onto my next adventure".

"Which would be?" Meg tried to prompt.

"Oh, I'm moving to Australia", the Doctor answered, "Got a friend down there I haven't seen for a while".

"Well, I hope it is a good reunion", Ian smiled as he took down another folder.

"It won't be", the Doctor laughed, "She is one feisty woman and probably hates me after not coming to visit in over twenty years".

The Doctor looked back to his computer screen, continuing to read Tegan Jovanka's webpage on Aboriginal Rights. There were so many companions he hadn't seen again since leaving them. He just can't bring himself to face the emotion of meeting them again. Sarah Jane was a fluke, but he was glad they had reunited. She left probably under the best circumstances, so it wasn't too painful when they met up again. Even if she was slightly bitter.

The Doctor jumped as something came to life behind him. He turned to look to see that the office printer that he thought looked beyond repair still had life within it. It was spewing out ink covered paper, which Andrea quickly collected and expected. She smiled in satisfaction before heading back over to her desk and sitting back down. "No offense to any of you, but you need a new printer", the Doctor sighed as he turned back to his screen, "Along with half the equipment in this room being replaced".

"We would do something about it", Meg replied, "But sadly, the school budget is focussed on other things at the moment. We are due for a new Geiger counter this year, and some new Bunsen burners".

"I've worker with less I suppose", the Doctor smiled, "And by the way Andrea, that trip you are organising looks fascinating".

"How did you know I was organising a trip?" the red head looked up at him from the papers she was looking at in surprise.

"The news bulletin", the Doctor pointed to the computer screen, "Is this a new factory you are going to visit?"

"No, the factory has been around a while. I was head Dermatologist there for a while", Andrea explained to him, "They produce beauty products, and emailed me that they had a new skin regenerating product coming out in September and wondered if I would like to bring the children along to see them making it".

"How fascinating", the Doctor sat back and crossed his arms in thought, "Are you looking for volunteers to look after the rabble?"

"Yes I am actually", Andrea smiled.

"She has got only me signed up so far", Meg smiled as she distracted herself away from the computer she was working on, "Got some friends in the chemistry department there, and thought I would go and give them a visit".

"Well, I willingly volunteer for this mission", the Doctor raised his arm, "Might I ask which year or years are you planning on taking?"

"Top sets at GCSE", Andrea replied, "So that is two classes, one from year ten and one from year eleven".

"That includes my Physics class, doesn't it?" the Doctor smiled mischievously.

"Why yes it does", Meg concluded, "Mind you, I bet Luke Smith will know all about what they are doing and could produce something ten times better himself".

"He's my nephew you know", the Doctor informed them.

"No way!" Ian gasped.

"I know it sounds slightly absurd, but it is true", the Doctor smiled, actually thinking Luke to be more son like than nephew like to him really, "Brilliant lad. And my granddaughter has just joined him in this fine establishment along with me too".

"Oh, the new Smith girl", Meg realised, "I was wondering if she was a relation of Luke's, seeing how easily and swiftly she got in".

"I would put that down to luck or coincidence, than taking to think that my family is conspiring", the Doctor smiled at her.

"Hmm, we were wondering if Luke was an undercover agent from MI5", Andrea laughed, with the others joining in too, "And now their whole undercover department are in this school!"

* * *

_Right then TARDIS_, Sarah Jane thought to herself as she followed Rani down a quieter corridor to Spanish,_ It would be nice if you could inform me when you are changing the language I'm speaking in some form or another_.

Sarah Jane watched as a bright flash blinded her vision. She stopped and shielded her eyes for a moment, to see Rani had been unaffected by the sudden change in light. Rani noticed Sarah Jane was no longer immediately behind her and turned to stop to see Sarah Jane covering her eyes for a brief moment. "Are you okay?" Rani asked.

"Did you see that flash?" Sarah Jane asked her.

"Uh um, Sarah Jane, do you mind speaking less fluent Spanish, at least until we are in class", Rani replied, and there was another flash.

"Sorry", Sarah Jane apologised, "The TARDIS and I are testing out ways for me to know when she is changing the language. I think we have settled on flashes in my vision".

"Cool", Rani smiled, "Now, TARDIS, if you would be so kind to try and help Sarah Jane confuse my Spanish teacher for just this one lesson, I would love you for the rest of my life".

"I think she can handle that", Sarah Jane shrugged as Rani pushed the door open and walked into the Spanish class.

It was an average sized classroom, but seemed more up to date compared to the form room. The building they were in had been completed the year before Luke had started at Park Vale, and Sarah Jane had checked it over thoroughly since the Slitheen incidence. There were no empty spaces or secret blueprints whatsoever.

There were four desks of four dotted around the room, but it seemed only one was being used. Three pupils, including Maxx sat around it, books out and speaking in their best Spanish as they carried out an exercise. On the far wall ran a line of windows and below them on the right hand side sat a desk with a black haired woman speaking into a phone. On every wall were posters in French, bar the one closest to the table the students were sitting on, which was covered from top to bottom in Spanish phrases and memorabilia.

Rani led Sarah Jane over to the desk and pulled a chair from another desk and sat down next to Maxx. Sarah took the empty chair in-between Rani and another girl. The girl looked at Sarah Jane and smiled. She was petite in stature, and had long wavy blonde hair with blue eyes. "Hi", she said to Sarah, still smiling, "I'm Rhi. You are the new girl, aren't you?"

"Sarah Jane Smith", Sarah Jane smiled as they shook hands.

"Like the journalist lady Rani is getting work experience from", Rhi looked to Rani behind Sarah.

"Sarah Jane is her niece, and therefore Luke's cousin", Rani explained.

"Oh wow", Rhi never stopped smiling, "I bet you are super smart like him".

"I'm not that smart", Sarah Jane laughed, and added whilst she was at it; "My granddad is the physics teacher here".

"Wow again", Rhi continued to smile, "So do you know that much Spanish?"

A bright flash crossed Sarah Jane's vision, and she guessed what that meant. The TARDIS was being cleaver. _Instead of helping me to impress the other students, why don't you come up with ways of beating the Doctor at his own game in Physics?_ Sarah wondered, hoping the TARDIS heard. She obviously did, as there was another flash across Sarah Jane's vision. "Oh, this and that", Sarah Jane shrugged in response to Rhi's question.

"Good morning class", the teacher started, "and good morning to you Miss Smith. Welcome to Spanish GCSE".

A flash crossed Sarah's vision once again. The TARDIS was complying with Rani's request to completely confuse the teacher. This was going to get interesting. "Gracias. Buenos días a usted también. ¿Qué quieres que te llame?", Sarah Jane responded, and the others in the class, including Maxx, could do nothing else but let their mouths drop wide open.

Rani just smiled, trying to retain the laughter that was building within her. The look upon her teacher's face was unforgettable. Sarah Jane just looked up and smiled and blinked as the TARDIS flashed across her line of sight again. "Mrs. Lloyd", the teacher replied, "I..."

But she couldn't bring herself to say anything else. Sarah's Spanish was unfaultable, and her accent was perfect. It was like she was speaking to a Spanish national, not a GCSE student from Park Vale. Mrs. Lloyd, still in some state of shock turned to face the board, to try and start work. Yet, she couldn't, and ended up going back to her desk and taking a large swig of her coffee.

Under the desk, Rani produced her hand to Sarah Jane, who looked down, and high, or rather secretly under the table, fived her friend's hand. Oh her time in school this time around, was going to be ten times more entertaining.

* * *

**AN:** I'm so sorry for taking so long with this. Life caught up with me again and sorry again, but the next chapter may be slow coming too. I have exams after Easter, and I really have to crack down on revising for them. So, there may be a new chapter on the way, but it will take a while. Thank you all for being so patient with me, and you would make my revision so much easier if you reviewed. Also, I got the Spanish from Google translate, so I'm sorry if it is incorrect in any way shape or form.


	12. Physics, Physics, Physics

**Physics, Physics, Physics**

"So, John", Sid the ex-vet started as he measured out the chemicals he needed in his next lesson, "You got a first lesson plan yet? The kids really like it when new teachers start their careers with a bang".

"Ah, but I'm not beginning my career am I?" the Doctor smiled across the top of the computer screen, "I'm just continuing with it. But yes, I do have a lesson plan".

"I started my first day with faking Earthquakes", Jason laughed.

"I remember that" Sid joined in, "You had the entire faculty under the staffroom tables in less than two seconds".

"And you, if I remember, brought in live animals and set them upon the class", Jason reminded Sid, "Griff said it was a goof few hours before they cleaned up all the presents your pets left behind".

The two men rocketed in laughter, and the Doctor just continued to smile. He had thought originally setting up a miniature sub-atomic particle collider, but then remembered the century he was in. The machines he made in UNIT were beyond the era he was in, but at least he knew that the Brigadier wasn't going to question him about it. The he thought to a three dimensional video that had the planets zooming around the room. But that too was out of the question. The technology was the right century, but the wrong decade. It would be at least two more before he could have three dimensional projections coming from one projector and without the glasses. He finally settled on a presentation filled with the pictures of space from the Hubble telescope and various artists' impressions that were as correct as they could be without actually being in space.

The Doctor finished typing down some facts about the solar system before looking up at Sid and Jason. They had moved onto another topic of conversation, completely forgetting that he was there. So, while the attention wasn't upon him, the Doctor brought up one of the windows on his new and improved computer. He had connected up to the UNIT system, and was just keeping an eye on the goings on. He hated being stuck in one place, even if it was for his own good. But it would be nice if the time he was spending here could be a bit more exiting.

Sarah Jane had made out to him that her life was full of alien invasions and lost wanderers, and that quiet periods were as common as a blue moon. There had been the Foogie yesterday, and Sarah Jane had made a note that there should be more of them crash landing. But according to UNIT (and Torchwood, don't think he didn't leave them out), there was nothing going on. Mr. Smith had sent a report half an hour ago that a cargo ship had passed Pluto, and was heading away from the Solar System, but other than that, it was quiet.

"So John?" Sid started again, "Lesson plan?"

"Oh yes", the Doctor jumped up and turned the screen of the computer around to face the men, "I was thinking along the line of a presentation for an introduction, and then fact files about each of the planets".

"Yes, but how are you going to introduce yourself to the students?" Jason wondered, "How are you going to get them to like you from word go?"

"Aha", the Doctor smiled as he walked forward to them men, "I was thinking of a quick quiz. See how much they already know, and impress them with my amazing memory".

"You don't know any of them yet", Sid pointed out, "apart from possibly a quick glance at the register".

"That is exactly what I have done", the Doctor told them as he perched himself on the edge of his desk, "Your computer system is very good having a picture of each of them next to their names".

"You seriously can't have learnt them already", Jason stared at him.

"Do you want me to run through all their names?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow to both of them looking at each of them in turn, "And point out who they are?"

"Go on then", Sid sat back, arms crossed, "Impress us".

"Fine" the Doctor stood up straight and smoothed down his tie, "I will".

* * *

"Thank you so much", Rani hugged Sarah Jane, "That was the best Spanish lesson ever!"

"Yeah", Rhi joined in enthusiastically, jumping forward and walking back backwards, "You were like pow, pow, and whoosh!"

"Rhi means that was awesome", Maxx translated the various noises Rhi had made as she skipped forward.

"Well", Sarah Jane laughed, "I do my best".

"You are going to have to come to my French class and do that", Rhi added, "It would be so cool".

"Yeah Sarah Jane", Rani agreed, "You should go and talk to all the language teachers in their chosen language".

"Um, no", Sarah Jane replied, "I think it would be too exhausting".

Rani nodded in understanding. The TARDIS was using up energy to do all of these tricks, and in turn was using up Sarah Jane's energy too, seeing as the tricks were going through her. They carried on walking through the corridors of the school towards Maths. Maxx and Rhi were in Sarah Jane and Rani's class, along with Luke who would be meeting them there.

Rani had mentioned in Spanish that Sarah Jane was going to have to sit by Luke, as it was the only space left. The only reason Luke sat on his own was because his brain was too big for his head and he had already finished the GCSE course. This was going to be awkward; for both of them. Luke has his mother sitting next to him in maths, making sure that he worked, and Sarah Jane was going to feel incredibly stupid next to her son.

The maths block was right at the end of the corridor they were walking along, and stuck out like a peninsula from the rest of this part of the school. Rani said that one of the teacher shad explained to them that it was so the rooms had the maximum amount of light they could get to save the school money on powering lights.

Maxx went in first, followed closely by Rhi. The door was an unimpressive wooden door with nothing but the room number and a poster advertising a field trip upon it. Rani was next, and Sarah Jane followed her friend in. The room was small, but bright, with three rows of desks running parallel to each other all the way down to the front by the white board. Down by the white board next to the window, facing the other way, was the teacher's desk, with, would you believe it, a teacher sitting at it working on a computer.

Rani led the way down to the front, where on the other side butted up against the teacher's desk, but facing the right way, was a table with non-other than her son sitting at it. Rhi dashed into the desk behind him, and Rani followed to sit next to her. "Hey Luke", Rani said as she sat down behind him, and Sarah Jane placed her bag on the chair next to him.

"Hey Rani", Luke said subconsciously as he was deeply focused upon a book.

"Ahem", Sarah Jane coughed as she stood by the desk, "Is this seat taken?"

Luke suddenly snapped to attention and looked up at his mum. He still wasn't used to her being the same age as him. "Sorry Mu... um Sarah Jane", he quickly saved, "I didn't see you there".

As Sarah Jane quickly sat down next to him and began to take some stuff out from her bag, she leant over to him slightly. "Luke, I love you reading as much as you do, but when in school and other public places, it is always best to keep one ear awake", she whispered to him.

"Sorry", he whispered back, "I hate not calling you mum, but then at the same time it feels strange to when you are like this".

"I know", she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"Aha", someone said loudly, making Sarah Jane jump, "You must Miss Smith".

Sarah Jane turned to face the voice. It was of the teacher. He was a youngish man, maybe in his late twenties, but looked more like a rugby player than a maths teacher. He had broad shoulders and seemed incredibly tall (well everyone was taller than Sarah), and had his hair spiked up with gel with blonde tips on the end of his dark brown.

"That I am", Sarah Jane replied.

"Good", he smiled as he stood to his full height, "Welcome to accelerated maths. Two GSCE's in one; very advanced stuff. But not advanced enough for Luke-y boy here. I would personally like to know what his mother feeds him because his brain is stuff of legends".

"Oh, I bet he doesn't get fed anything else differently than the rest of us", Sarah Jane smiled, proud of her son.

"My mum can't cook", Luke told the teacher from behind Sarah Jane, and then there was a loud bang, "Rani, why did you kick the underside of my chair?"

"Sorry, Luke, I seem to have a twitch", Rani replied, her hopes that Luke would have gotten the message to shut up dashed completely.

"Anyway", the teacher continued, not understanding what was really going on, "I'm Mr Roberts. If you need any help, just let me know, but I bet Luke here could help you too".

"Thanks", Sarah Jane told him as he nodded and went to stand in front of the white board to start teaching.

"Luke!" Rani hissed, "Why did you say that!"

"Say what?" Luke whispered back.

"That Aunt Sarah Jane can't cook" Sarah Jane raised an eyebrow beside him with her arms crossed.

"Because y... she can't. I cook" Luke replied to them both, "I'm supposed to tell the truth, aren't I?"

"Yes, but not all the time", Sarah Jane told him, "It's complicated".

"I know", Luke nodded, "So is the reason why Rani kicked the underside of my chair".

"It was a signal Luke", Rhi joined in, not wanting to be left out.

"Oh", he said in realisation as they turned to face the front for the lesson, "I'm still no good at non-verbal communication".

"But you are so much better than you were", Sarah Jane whispered back at him, making him smile.

That made Luke feel so much better. Yes, he was getting better at being human every day, and everything he seemed to learn about the social life of a teenager seemed to make his knowledge leap so much further forward than anything he could ever learn from a book. And praise from his mother boosted his confidence so much more.

* * *

Clyde sat on the brick wall at his, Rani and Luke's meeting spot in the school yard. They chose to sit here every lunch and break time because a) it was quiet which meant that they could work and talk about things that are really not to be mentioned outside of number thirteen Bannerman Road, b) it was generally well sheltered from wind and rain and in the summer they got maximum sun in the morning, with shade only encroaching in the latter half of lunch, and c) it didn't smell. The area was a forgotten corner of the school on the far side of the playing fields, where the school boundaries met that of the gardens of the houses surrounding the establishment. Clyde favoured to perch upon the forgotten garden walls of one of the houses, whilst Rani and Luke liked to sit on the grass with their backs propped up against the brick.

Looking around, Clyde noticed a figure walking over towards him. He straightened up, realising it was neither Luke nor Rani, but then relaxed when he saw that it was in fact the Doctor. He strode across the grass with his walking stick, looking at the ground, and not at where he was going. Clyde noticed how his shoes gleamed in the sunlight, compared to his which were a mixture of a dull black leather and mud, with various pieces of the sole falling off. There was no point in buying any new ones at this time of the year as he would probably wear them for a week, and then not at all for another two months. "So this is what teenagers these days do during their breaks", the Doctor smiled as he got closer, "Sit on walls with the latest Black Eyed Peas song blasting out of the speakers on their phones, waiting for their mates to turn up".

"Yeah, that about sums it up", Clyde laughed as he jumped down, "How was the science staff room?"

"Surprisingly social", the Doctor answered as he stopped in front of Clyde, "I'm surprised by the intellect of the science teachers you have in this school. Did you know they are all specialists of some sort?"

"Yeah", Clyde sighed as he slumped down onto the grass with his back up against the wall, "Some sort of plan by the governors to give us students 'the widest variety of teaching styles'".

"Well, it is a very good idea", the Doctor nodded as he looked down at the boy, "Right then, let's see if this body is still as flexible as it used to be".

Clyde watched as the Doctor slowly crouched down to sit next to him. Clyde watched as the Doctor made a variety of faces, all of which he had seen on old men around about the same human age as the Doctor was meant to look. He swore he heard something click, and then the Doctor let out a long and satisfying sigh as he got comfortable with his legs stretched out before him, and leaning back onto his hands. "Still a bit stiff", the Doctor commented, as he let his head flop back and closed his eyes in the warm sunlight than bathed his face, "It is really disconcerting for me, this time cold of the TARDIS's. My body thinks I'm going through regenerations like nobody's business, and so everything is trying to conserve as much energy as possible".

"Resulting in the stiff joints?" Clyde asked trying to clear things up.

"Among other things", the Doctor looked back up at him, "For example, last night I slept for the longest I have ever done since I was about ninety. I feel like a Timeenager who last night went out to his first college party and ended up upside down hanging from the school flagpole, wrapped up in the flag".

"That doesn't sound very nice", Clyde winced as the image came into his head.

"It wasn't", the Doctor half-laughed, remembering the image as he flopped his head back again; "Oh, here comes trouble".

Clyde looked past the Doctor to see three figures walking towards them. He could make out Luke with his head hung low, Sarah Jane doing her best to reassure him for whatever reason, and Rani with a large smile upon her face just behind them. "So", Clyde started with a beaming smile as they approached, "How are 21st century GSCE lessons compared to 1960s O Levels?"

"They aren't that much different", Sarah Jane commented as she set down her stuff, "Oh, c'mon Luke, it isn't the end of the world".

"It feels like it", the boy mumbled as he slid down to sit next to Clyde.

"Oh no, what has happened now?" the Doctor asked, "What trouble have you got your son into now Sarah Jane?"

"He isn't in trouble", Sarah Jane sighed as she sat down on the grass next to the Doctor and held her head in her hands.

"Luke, do you want to tell them, or do you want me to?" Rani asked as she sat crossed legged on the grass.

"You can", he mumbled, "I don't really want to talk about it".

"Okay", Rani started, "The TARDIS decided Sarah Jane needed help in Maths as well as in Spanish, so she ended up doing better than Luke".

"Ah", the Doctor said as he pushed himself up and sat crossed legged, his knees clicking as he adjusted them, "Luke my boy, some light competition is always a good thing. And especially seeing as your mum is as feisty as she has ever been, things could turn out to be rather entertaining".

"You think so", Luke looked up, his eyes revealing how down he was about his mother beating him.

"I know so", the Doctor smiled, "Besides, if you put your mind to it, I bet you could run rings around the TARDIS's mathematical capabilities that she is sharing with your mum".

"Really?" Luke smiled.

"Oh yeah", the Doctor winked at him, "Am I ever wrong".

"Yes", Sarah Jane laughed.

"Oh", the Doctor began to think, "Well, I know I'm right about this".

* * *

Sarah Jane came out of English happy. One, because English used to be one of her favourite subjects at O level, and two, the next lesson was sure to be the highlight of her day. Luke soon followed out after her, and had the same look upon his face. He was dying as much as she was to see the Doctor in front of a class of fifteen/sixteen year olds, trying his absolute best to keep them entertained and get them to learn something in the process. And knowing the Doctor, they would end up learning completely the wrong thing which was way off topic and utterly irrelevant to anything else they were learning about.

Of course, they had heard, from him that he had taught before, in Deffry Vale. But that was anecdotal, and this was the real thing. As mother and son, even though they didn't look like it at all, crossed the yard from the English demountables that stank of damp and were rumoured to have rats living under them (Sarah Jane had this image of them coming out after school had finished and having a party under the tables in the classrooms and taking the advantage of the internet (Facebook for rats, ha), all the while cleaning the room like the ones from the Cinderella movie), they bumped into Clyde and Rani. The look upon their faces was exactly the same as Sarah's and Luke's. There was no need to speak as they entered the science corridor. The excitement was too great for words.

As they approached the correct classroom, Rani began to frown. Then Luke, and then finally Clyde. Sarah Jane only frowned at the expressions of her companions, until she noticed the line outside the classroom, and a notice on the door reading 'Line up please, I will be there now' in the Doctor's scruffy handwriting. "You would have thought, in nine hundred years of time and space the Doctor would have improved his handwriting", Luke criticised.

"He doesn't normally write in English Luke", Sarah Jane told him as they joined the back of the queue.

"Probably doesn't need to", Clyde suggested.

"Yeah, he had all those post it's around the view screen on the TARDIS, and I couldn't understand them", Rani recalled.

"That was Galifreyan", Sarah Jane told them as she flipped open her watch hopefully out of sight from the other students, "Well, he is in the classroom".

The other three looked at the watch display screen. Sure enough, there was the Doctor's little image of his face, bounding all over the classroom. Obviously, he had overcome the stiffness and was acting very energetically for someone who was supposed to look well within the retirement age. Suddenly, he stopped, and walked slowly over to the door. "Oh, here we go", Sarah Jane said as she flipped the watch latch shut, and the three of them looked down the queue to the door.

It opened with a click, and the Doctor's mass of grey hair popped out first. He stepped out with his arms wide open, and a grin to defeat all grins. "Welcome, to GCSE Physics", he announced, "Enter if you may".

Whoever was at the front decided that was good enough for them, and walked into the classroom. Like sheep, the rest of them followed, all giving the Doctor an odd glance as they scurried past him. Finally, it came down to the four of them passing him. Rani went first, then Clyde and Luke, and as Sarah Jane passed him, the Doctor gave her a quick wink, before shutting the door after her.

Sarah Jane followed the others over to some seats at the front, but in what seemed a forgotten corner of the classroom. The room was separated into three by three rows of tables. One at the back that seemed to be clustered with boys, a middle row that seemed mostly comprised of girls, and then the front row which was a mixture of both, although in the middle desk was taken up by a very dated OHP (0over head projector). Sarah followed the others and sat at the end of the desk, quite literally as it seemed there was no other space for her. The old wooden stool wobbled slightly as she sat down on it, due to many years of use, and was probably due for replacement. In fact, she wouldn't have been surprised if some of the equipment she could see out in the room had been here since the school opened.

The Doctor walked to the front of the classroom and took a whiteboard pen from the inside of his waistcoat. Turning his back momentarily, he wrote 'Dr. Smith' on the board in his best yet scruffy handwriting. "Good morning class. I'm Dr. Smith and I will be teaching you for the remainder of your GCSE course", the Doctor started, "Now, how about some ground rules before we begin, hmm? One, or a, or however you want to start, I despise boredom. If you are bored, let me know, and I can do something about it. Two, or b, if you have an idea, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, say it. You never know, it could be the basis to you discovering the common cold. Four, no hang about, three or c, if I tell you to do something, you do it, no arguing. I promise no matter how stupid it may seem at the beginning, everything I do is serious. Maybe just not in the way I go about doing it. And finally, four, or d, do not wander off. No wait, that doesn't apply here, does it. Never mind".

"Reminds me of the speech he gave me when we started travelling", Sarah Jane whispered to the other three as the Doctor walked over to the computer and brought up a PowerPoint up on the interactive board.

"I'll bet it is the same one he gives everyone", Rani smiled back.

"Right, we are going to begin with a quiz", the Doctor clapped his hands together, "And seeing as we are studying space, that is what it is on".

"Well duh", Clyde said under his breath, making Luke smile.

"Rhys Baxter", the Doctor said, making a boy in the back room literally jump, "What is the third planet from the sun?"

"Uh, um, the, uh, Earth?" the boy stammered, making everyone giggle, the Doctor had taken him by surprise so much he was hardly able to speak.

"Bingo", the Doctor smiled, "The only planet able to support life in the solar system. Well at the moment anyway. James Bennet, name the galaxy the solar system is located in".

"The Milky Way?" a boy at the other end of the front bench answered.

"Good, good", the Doctor nodded, "Chloe Williams, what is the Moon?"

"Um, a satellite?" a nervous looking girl said from the middle row.

"Excellent. Right, we are going to step it up a notch", the Doctor smiled, "Fred Harrison, what is a black hole?"

"Isn't it a collapse star", another boy from the back answered.

"Yes it is, and in the future could end up being a great source of power", the Doctor told them, "Rani Chandra, what element makes a star 'burn' so to speak?"

Rani shifted in her seat, surprised the Doctor had chosen her. "Um", she rubbed the back of her neck, "Hydrogen?"

"Absolutely", he winked at her, "Hydrogen particles collide in a process called fusion, which we will learn about later, but gives off the heat and light we receive here on Earth, and what other product is made? Luke Smith?"

"Helium", Luke answered straight, "and then the Helium particles collide to make even heavier atoms".

"I'm impressed", the Doctor smiled, knowing that Luke knew more than that, but didn't want to investigate any further for now, and flicked the computer mouse to reveal the first slide, "We are going to study this in three topics; the planets, the solar system, and then the universe".

The first slide was a picture of the solar system. Well, actually, it was a cartoon. The sun was wearing a sun hat, Mercury had a pair of running shoes on, Venus was illustrated as a girl, Earth had tress growing out the top of his head, Mars had big black eyes, Jupiter was standing tall above the rest, Saturn wore large rings on its fingers, Neptune had a large Trident, Uranus was horizontal, and the finally Pluto had its back turned to the rest and was sticking out it tongue. Sarah Jane smiled as the image sunk in, and she heard some members of the class laugh. "Yes, very good, I know", the Doctor agreed with the class, "Now, seeing as it is an absolutely wonderful sunny day, I am going to take this lesson outside, to the playing fields".

There seemed to be a resounding noise of glee, and some of the pupils actually high fived. "Right, we are going to try and represent the planets and their distance between each other. Scaled down of course", the Doctor told them as he picked up a red tray full of some sort of equipment, "Now, I have split you into ten groups. Nine of you will be planets, and the last one will be the sun".

He looked out of the class as his super fast brain tried to work out how best to split the teenagers up without causing too many arguments. "Right, back row, split into four. I want from the right. No, your left, I want you to be the Sun, Saturn, Mercury, and Uranus", the Doctor pointed out to them and the boys sorted themselves out, "Middle row, split into three, and from your right, I want you to be Neptune, Venus, and Mars".

"And finally front row. From your left, Pluto, Earth, and then", he pointed to his favourite four at the end, "Jupiter. Tell me Sarah Jane Smith, how many moons does Jupiter have?"

Sarah Jane raised an eyebrow at him. He had to be joking. He had to pick that planet to ask her questions on. She knew its past, its present, and its future, well in the thirtieth century anyway. But it could have been worse. He could have asked her questions on Mars or Metebelis Three. Now that would have gone down well. "Do you want me to include Voga in my answer?" she stared at him.

"Voga! Why on Earth... oh sorry, no um, wasn't the best question to ask you was it?" the Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, and Sarah Jane could feel the looks she was getting from the rest of her peers.

"I think anything you ask me in this topic is going to be difficult to answer", she told him, trying not to let anything slip.

"Suppose", the Doctor agreed, "Well, forgetting Voga, how many moons does Jupiter have at the present?"

"Sixty three officially named", Sarah answered back.

"Good", the Doctor nodded, "Right you lot. Outside this minute before I die of old age. That would be an achievement".

* * *

**AN:** Yay, another chapter. Finally. I really wanted to get this up before I go into full on revision mode for the next month. I basically have no Easter as it is all taken up with revision. Yay. I'm sorry for any spelling or grammatical mistakes. Word says this is all correct, and even though I do read through it once I have finished writing, things crop up even after that, so from my brain to the rest of you all. Sorry. I have noticed I have a tendency to leave letters of words, or forget to put a word in, which would then make everything make sense.


	13. Prank of the Century

**AN Pre Chapter:** Hi guys. It has taken me this long to write this up because of a) exams and b) the death of Lis Sladen. I am going to get this finished for her. I couldn't believe that just six days after I posted the last chapter she was no longer with us. Anyway, on with the show and at least for this story Sarah Jane lives on as for the most of the time, a sixteen year old. I think Lis would have liked that!

* * *

**Prank of the Century**

The ten groups gathered on the playing fields after walking through the school, getting the odd glance from a teacher or two as they passed their classroom. The Doctor had walked through those corridors with so much enthusiasm, Sarah Jane had to wonder if the Doctor was actually claustrophobic, and couldn't stand being in the building any longer. And not for once, she had to jog to keep up with his pace.

Seeing as she, Luke, Rani and Clyde were now by default his favourite students, the Doctor had made them carry the equipment they needed. Luke was given the metre rules, as the Doctor didn't trust Clyde to carry them without pretending to use them as swords. Clyde had a ball of string, with Rani carrying pieces of paper with the names of the planets written upon them, which left Sarah Jane to carry the sticky tape. And it was a very heavy piece of sticky tape, probably because it was in an excessively big holder.

"Right, which group of you is the sun?" the Doctor asked as he placed the sheet of paper with the Sun on it on the floor.

Four rowdy boys came forward and stood where the Doctor indicated to them. They all smiled and laughed as they got as close together as possible. One of them picked up the label, and the Doctor instructed Sarah Jane to give him a bit of sticky tape. She obeyed, and within seconds, the piece of paper was stuck on one of the boys' back. Sarah Jane rolled her eyes at their immaturity, and sent a glare at the Doctor which read as; _do you really think this is a good idea?_

All she got in return was a quick waggle of the bushy eyebrows before he continued onto the next group. The Doctor took the piece of string and got Clyde and a few others to help him measure out the correct scale distance between the Sun and Mercury. The Doctor continued this pattern until he finished with the last group; Pluto.

Sarah Jane looked at her group. Clyde had found it highly humorous to stick the piece of paper with 'Jupiter' on it onto his forehead, and he was now smiling like an utter idiot. Rani shared the same expression as she did when it came to Clyde as both girls rolled their eyes at him, whilst Luke continued to rattle on various facts about Jupiter that none of them would ever need to know. "Out of the sixty three moons Jupiter has in orbit around it, only forty seven of them have been discovered since 1975", Luke informed them all as the Doctor finished up with the Pluto group.

"Yes, and the moons are more likely to be inhabited than the planet itself", Sarah Jane sighed, "Luke, I love you to bits, but can you please be quiet on the facts about Jupiter front? It is bad enough with the Doctor teaching us all about the solar system and the planets, without you giving us a further lecture on them".

"Oh, sorry mum", Luke replied, but then received a quick death glare from Sarah Jane; "Uh I'm mean Sarah Jane".

"It's okay Luke", Sarah Jane rested a hand upon his shoulder.

"Hey, why not instead of lecturing us, you help Sarah Jane to trip the Doctor up?" Clyde suggested.

"Yeah, maybe something about aliens or something", Rani agreed.

"That's sounds possible", Luke shrugged, "Which aliens?"

"Oh, you could try the Ice Warriors or the Osirians of Mars", Sarah Jane smiled, "But try to be discrete about it. Bring it up in discussion, but don't start it as a conversation".

"Yes mum", Luke whispered, "I'll be sure to call you Sarah Jane in public, but please let me call you mum in private".

"As long as none else hears it, its okay with me", Sarah smiled at him.

For the rest of the lesson, the Doctor taught them how the planets orbited around the sun, and the poor group of girls with the task of being Neptune had to do their best vertical rotation they could as the Doctor made them orbit the sun. He explained to them how some of the planets formed at different rates, and told them of the 'rocky planets' and the 'gaseous planets', and made the occasional hint of extraterrestrial life.

At the end of the lesson, the bell for lunch sounded, and as all the teenagers rushed off to be the first in the lunch queue, the Doctor let out a long overdue sigh, puffing out his cheeks, and clicking his back. He hadn't done so much in a long time. Sure, being chased by bug eyed monsters and dictators was energy draining, but that was nothing compared to teaching human teenagers. How top of that, he would probably been very appreciative of eyes in the back of his head so he could keep an eye on all of them all at the same time.

But thankfully, he had his favourite four to help him along. They walked up to him smiling at the end of the lesson, after everyone had disappeared off for lunch, and Clyde patted him on the back. "Congrats Doc", he laughed, "You successfully controlled twenty-five fifteen to sixteen year olds for one hour. You can now do anything in the world".

"Thanks Clyde", the Doctor smiled down at the teen, "I'm just glad I only have to do that three times a week. Your other teachers have to that every hour every day. How do they do it?"

"Some don't", Rani answered, "That was the quietest I have ever seen our class".

"That was quiet?" Sarah Jane raised an eyebrow, "That level of noise could have gotten my class a detention when I did my O Levels".

"It is the change in the education system", Luke explained to her, "They don't just teach, they make sure you are absorbing the information too".

"Hmm, explains why I didn't get science the first time around", Sarah laughed, "C'mon, let's go have some lunch".

After lunch, Sarah Jane went to history with Luke, but ended up being very bored as she was muttering the correct dates under her breath even before the teacher had said anything. Then she was rolling her eyes as the teacher tried to describe a medieval castle to them. He was getting it all wrong when it came to the numbers which occupied the castle at the time. All the pictures he showed them we of nice clean places, well lit with candles and heavily decorated. As if, Sarah Jane kept thinking. Most of them were damp, dark, filthy, empty spaces with people just living in them. And the people could be described like the buildings too, from her experience.

However, following a rather uneventful Biology lesson with Mrs Ellis (Andrea), it was time to go home. _Finally_, Sarah Jane sighed to herself as the bell rang. Folding up a piece of paper on a proposed school trip before the exams to a dermatology factory, Sarah Jane then picked up her bag, and followed her three apprentices out of the classroom. One day, and it seemed as if this had been the norm forever. Rani and Clyde were arguing once again, Luke was making the occasional helpful input into the argument, normally the comment was in Rani's favour, and then there was Sarah Jane following them, smiling.

Suddenly, there was a tap on her shoulder as they crossed the yard to the gate where they were to meet the Doctor. Sarah spun around and there was Maxx, smiling down at her. "So, how was your first day?" he asked her.

"Oh, it was okay", she replied as they continued walking, "It was school, and I guess I will just have to put up with it".

"I know. I love going home", he agreed with her, "But then, during holidays, I find out how much I actually love going to school because I start to get bored and miss my friends".

"You should get a job then", Sarah poked him in the arm, "Get off of your behind and work. Rani tags along with me... my aunt when she can to get work experience as a journalist. What do you want to do? Maybe there is somewhere you can go and get experience".

Maxx thought for a moment, looking upwards. As Sarah Jane watched him, the sun came out from behind a cloud for just a moment, and she thought she saw his skin sparkle slightly in the light. Shaking her head, telling herself that was ridiculous, Maxx then focused on her question and answer edit. "Well, I'm rather concerned about the environment, so I guess I could go to some laboratory or something", he replied.

"You don't have to do that you know", Sarah Jane stopped him, adding; "You could go and work with the National Trust, volunteer to do some work with them or something".

"Yeah, thank Sarah Jane", he hugged her quickly, "You're amazing".

"And choking", she coughed, and Maxx released her, "Look, I have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Sure", he nodded, "See you around".

* * *

Nothing much happened Tuesday. Sarah Jane was starting to think at the end of the day that actually, even though the Doctor was now temporarily living in her house and she was attending school, these next few weeks were going to be very boring. Mickey and Martha had rung last night, and it was good to hear them with their normal voices again. They had started on the Doctor's task and recited as much Welsh they knew at him, with Sarah Jane laughing because the TARDIS was translating every word for her, literally, so all their sentences sounded discombobulated and at some times sounded exactly like gibberish.

Maxx had spent lunch with them, and the Doctor had been dragged to the staff room to meet the rest of his peers, which he was not too impressed with. He went off muttering something about learning to distinguish between those who eat rats, and those who don't. The five teenagers had sat laughing all lunch, and they agreed that if this nice weather continued, one of them was going to have to bring in a ball for them to kick around. Both Maxx and Clyde volunteered, but in the end, Clyde was elected to bring in a ball every day, and Maxx was going to bring a Frisbee and some cards for them to play with.

Wednesday morning, Sarah Jane beat her alarm (the Doctor with a cold wet hand), and was dressed and ready to go even before Luke had exited from his room. "Morning Luke", she said to him as she ruffled her son's hair, before heading up the stairs to check in with Mr Smith.

"Morning", Luke yawned, "Nice sleep?"

"Yes thanks", Sarah replied as she did up her tie on the stairs, "Breakfast is on the table waiting for you".

"Okay", he replied with another yawn and a stretch.

The Doctor was nowhere to be seen this morning. He was not in his room, nor was he anywhere downstairs. He wasn't even in any of the new TARDIS rooms that had been provided, so Sarah Jane concluded he must be up in the attic. Doing what, she was about to find out. Finishing with her tie before she opened the white door, she entered into her new TARDIS attic to find the Doctor deep in the circuitry, dressed thankfully in his jeans and shirt and not his suit. Even though the Doctor could wash his own clothes, and he had enough to sink a ship, Sarah Jane had found herself not only doing her normal load of washing containing hers and Luke's, but also the Doctor's as well.

K9 was beside him, doing whatever the Doctor needed him too, and Mr Smith was out and doing his morning scan. He was constantly scanning, like a computer's anti-virus software, but then every morning, like a computer would do occasionally as well, he would do a more thorough scan. At the moment, he was going through all the press releases over night, various news reports flicking past.

"Morning Sarah", the Doctor's voice came as he pulled himself from under the TARDIS console, his grey hair splattered with black spots of oil and other substances, "Sleep well?"

"Took a while to get off, but yes thank you", she smiled at him as she sat down on the wooden floor next to him and began to do up her laces, "What've you been up to?"

"Ah, this and that", he replied as he wiped a bit of sweat off of his brow, "Mainly checking the TARDIS self defence systems, and seeing if I can hook them up with Mr Smith".

"Yes, that would be good", Sarah agreed with him, "He only works best in the attic, so anything you can do to improve him would be excellent. Perhaps you could install a locking system on the front door like with the TARDIS?"

"Done that this morning", he sighed as he pulled himself up of the floor, "Just as long as you lock the door, nobody will ever be able to get into your house ever again".

"Great", Sarah smiled as she got up of the floor too, "You are going to have to have a shower and change before we head off today".

"Aww, I was hoping I could go in like this today", he smiled at her tapped the end of her nose with a laugh, "Don't you worry your head over it my Sarah Jane, I will be clean and scrubbed up before half eight. I've got two hours before then".

"No, It is half seven", she laughed at him; "You have an hour".

"Great Balls of Fire!" he exclaimed as he ran out of the room faster than lightening and headed downstairs.

With a laugh, Sarah Jane headed down and over to Mr Smith as she watched him finish. As usual, he displayed his findings on screen in data format, before relaying them back to Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane examined the results as Mr Smith gathered them together, and one of the pieces of data made her feel slightly better. A Foogie had come down in the night, and had been retrieved by UNIT. "I'm aware that you have seen the information on the Foogie Sarah Jane", Mr Smith said to her, "It was picked up in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. Luckily, the Queen is in residence and has managed to draw press attention away from the crash site by walking her dogs in front of the palace gates".

"Make a note Mr Smith, thank we are to send her some thanks and news on the Foogie when we have sent it home", Sarah Jane told him, "I guess we will have to make a trip to UNIT HQ sometime this week to activate the teleport. The protocol and instructions I left with them will keep them busy until I can get there".

Then, the house phone rang, and Luke called from somewhere; "I've got it!" That was one of the few things Sarah Jane had now managed to teach Luke. If it sounds as if nobody is going to answer the phone, answer it yourself. But it seemed Luke always answered the phone these days, even if it wasn't the house phone or his own, he just enjoyed the pleasure of saying 'Hello' to the person on the other end of the line.

Saying a quick goodbye for now to Mr Smith, and telling K9 to follow, Sarah Jane then headed downstairs. She could hear the water running in the bathroom, telling her the Doctor was in there rushing to get ready. For a man, he did take his time, doing whatever he did to himself to make him always look so handsome. As Sarah Jane walked across the first floor landing to the stairs, she heard Luke call again. "Mu-um", he called, "I think UNIT want to speak to you".

"UNIT" Sarah Jane said confusedly as she came down the last set of stairs to see her son giving her an odd look as she approached, "How'd you know it is UNIT?"

"There is someone reciting a load of numbers and asking for you", Luke said as he thrust the phone forward at her.

"Hello?" Sarah Jane said cautiously into the device, "Can I help?"

"001045134234510, can I please speak to Miss Sarah Jane Smith?" a young man said on the other end.

That number was a number she had given to the Brigadier to put in a UNIT file, so that in case a member of UNIT needed her whilst the Brigadier or Martha was not present and they had authorisation to contact her, they could quote that number at her. This was the first time it had been used. The young man on the other end sounded nervous, obviously because he probably knew he was trying to get hold of someone with a very high status in the establishment and that if he got protocol wrong, the Brig would have his head. "00104..." he began to recite the number again, but before he could continue, Sarah cut him off.

"Yes, this is Miss Smith", Sarah replied as she shooed Luke off, "Who am I speaking to?"

"Private Morgan Bawden", the young man replied, slight relief in his voice, before quickly adding, "Of UNIT Miss Smith".

"How can I help you Private?" Sarah Jane said kindly to him as she sat down onto the stairs.

"Yes, um, Brigadier Sir Alistair Lethbridge- Stewart asked me to contact you because we have a problem with the Foogie we acquired last night from Buckingham Palace", he told her.

"Problem", Sarah Jane was curious, "What kind of problem?"

"Well, it is much larger than we are used to. Three times larger, and isn't fluffy", Private Bawden informed her; "He was wondering if you could come down here soon. Today, this morning he was wondering".

"Look, I'm rather busy this morning with my own problems, but if you tell him I will be there by about half two this afternoon, that would be great", she told him as she checked her watch with a smile, "Contain the Foogie in some sort of electromagnetic force field and keep as many people away from it as possible. Also, keep it in the dark and try to be as quiet as you can around it".

"Thank you Miss Smith", Private Bawden replied, "Is there anything else we need to do until you arrive?"

"No, that should be it", Sarah mentally went over everything she had told him, "Oh, but before you go, can you tell me what senior officers, well, officers who were on duty back in the seventies with the Brigadier are on duty this afternoon, bar the Brig of course?"

"Uh, Sergeant Major Benton and Captain Mike Yates were called in to help earlier", Bawden replied, "Otherwise, I can't think of any other officers from that time period are around Miss Smith".

"Thank you. That will be all, Private", she smiled before hanging p on the young private.

_Oh Sarah Jane Smith, you cruel thing_, she thought to herself as she headed into the kitchen with a large smile upon her face. Luke was sitting at the table reading the newspaper, munching on a bit of toast, and looked up at his mother as she sat opposite him. The grin that was on her face was positively evil and Luke shrank back into his chair slightly as she sat."What did UNIT want?" Luke asked her as she took a sip from the tea on the table.

"Oh, nothing much", she smiled as she gazed off into the distance, before coming back down to Earth and standing quickly, "The Doctor and I won't be back until late this evening Luke. Do you mind?"

"No", Luke told her as he watched her start to leave the kitchen, "Are you alright mum?"

"Yes, I'm fine", she called back, "Eat your breakfast, we only have half an hour till we have to go".

* * *

The Doctor stood tapping his foot and looking at his watch impatiently by Sarah Jane's front door. That girl had disappeared off somewhere in the house, and he hadn't seen her in an hour. Luke had already left out of the fear of being late for school with Rani and Clyde. _Typical_, the Doctor thought to himself, _of all the days Sarah Jane chooses to be a hypocrite, and she decides today is better than any_.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait much longer as his companions thundered down the stairs carrying a full sports bag in one hand, and grabbed her schoolbag on the way down too. She leapt across the hall, smiling, and the Doctor shut it quickly after she was through. With a quick sonic to the lock, and they were off. "So, what's your excuse for being late?" he asked her as they almost jogged down the street so they wouldn't be late.

"All in good time, Doctor", she winked at him, "All in good time".

The Doctor rolled his eyes and sighed as he tried to keep up with the energetic sixteen year-old. He decided then and there that he was never, in all of the lives he had left, going to have a teenager to travel with him. They just took too much energy out of him.

Half past one came didn't come soon enough for Sarah Jane, and as soon as she had finished her lunch, she grabbed the Doctor by his coat and dragged him to his feet. Maxx, who was unaware of what was happening this afternoon, gazed up at them confused. Rani, Luke and Clyde each said their goodbyes in turn, as Sarah Jane and the Doctor headed off for the afternoon. "Oh, c'mon Doctor", Sarah Jane tried to hurry him as they crossed the playing field.

"What's the rush Sarah?" the Doctor wondered, "We have another half an hour before we change again".

"I know, it's just I told the Brigadier that we would be at UNIT HQ by half two", she smiled at him.

"Whoa", the Doctor grinned as he stopped her, "Miss Smith, are you telling me we are about to go and play the biggest prank on the Brigadier since the creation of the universe?"

"Yes, don't forget Benton and Yates too", she smiled at him, "C'mon, the car is where I left it last night. If we are quick, we can get there before two, and change into the clothes I brought".

"Is that what is in your bag of goodies there?" the Doctor gestured down to the sports bag in her hand as they began to quicken the pace across the field.

* * *

The grin on the Doctor's face as he parked the car in the trees just outside of the UNIT HQ gate was one that could match Sarah Jane's. They had taken many short cuts, and broken various speed limits to get here in time. They literally had seconds to spare, as the Doctor looked at his watch, they were thirty seconds off the hour. Gazing over to Sarah Jane who much to her displeasure had taken to sitting in the passenger seat in these past few days, the Doctor found that she was clambering over the leather seats into the back. Raising a bushy grey eyebrow at her, he watched her slide into the small space that was the back seats of her Nissan. "Sarah Jane, just what exactly are you doing?" he asked her, "We have twenty seconds".

"I know", he heard her smile back.

"And..." he was still trying to get the answer out of her.

"It's so I can get changed straight away. It's easier for me to get back here now than in the next ten seconds", she replied.

"Fair enough", the Doctor shrugged, "Five, four, three, two, and one..."

The golden light bathed the inside of the Figaro, escaping through the windows and lighting up the trees around them. It lasted all of ten seconds, ending with waves of golden Artron energy flying off in all directions, some of the trees absorbing the energy as it hit them. The Doctor flicked down the mirror in the eyeshade above him just to check everything was as they were expecting. A pair of wild blue eyes looked back at him, confirming that everything was okay for him. "Sarah?" his velvet voice asked a he gazed back over his shoulder.

"All okay", he heard her reply and smile up at him, "Do you mind getting out whilst I change?"

"Sure", he replied as he wriggled out from his seatbelt and opened up the door, "Where is my stuff?"

"It's in the bag here with my stuff", she replied as she removed her Park Vale jumper, "You can have it when I am done".

Nodding, the Doctor removed his head with its mass of curly brown hair from inside her car and turned to face away from the car. Tapping his foot, he began to think what the old boys would be like now. He hadn't seen the Brigadier since... well; it was a long time ago. Benton, he knew had gone into car sales, and Mike had been retired back in the seventies after Operation Golden Age nonsense that both he and Sarah Jane had been caught up in. As he thought, he remembered it was a while ago since he had seen a dinosaur. Perhaps he would have to back to the Jurassic for a visit. Or easier still, whilst he was here, he could just get Sarah Jane to watch Jurassic Park with him.

"Eh-em", he heard from behind him.

The Doctor turned on the spot, and his hearts fluttered as his eyes laid his eyes upon Sarah Jane. A small tear threatened an appearance in the corner of one of his eyes as he saw that she was dressed in exactly the same outfit that this him had left her in all those years ago. It was odd to see her dressed in that pink Andy Pandy costume again; just as odd it was for her to be wearing it again.

Sarah Jane laughed at the Doctor's expression as he looked her over. Brushing her hair with a brush that she packed, she walked over to him, giving a little twirl as she went. "So, what do you think?" she smiled at him.

"If you have packed my old outfit in there, I will be mighty impressed", he grinned as he gave her a huge old hug.

"Scarf, sonic screwdriver, and jelly babies, all in there", she replied, "The TARDIS spent most of that time this morning which made me late, directing me to various places in the actual TARDIS, where all the items which used to be in your pockets were".

"Oh my Sarah Jane, you are amazing", he smiled at her as he dashed over to the car, "And what of my hat?"

"In there too", she laughed at him as she turned her back to give him privacy too.

Sarah Jane removed her watch from her wrist and slid the rings on her fingers off, and placed the items in the small bag she had. Inside already was her sonic lipstick and phone, but as she put the last remaining items from her present self in there, she removed more items. She placed her old watch on her wrist, and put her old rings on her fingers. Taking her small pocket mirror out from the bag, she then checked her makeup; perfect. As she started to close it, she caught the Doctor stepping out from the car, fully dressed, and just re-wrapping his scarf into a better position around his neck. "Ah, it feels good to be in this old getup again", he commented as he flattened down his trousers and coat.

"And it still looks good on you too", Sarah Jane smiled at him as she looked him over, "Hang on a minute though".

She stepped forward to him and adjusted his neck tie. Then she noticed he hadn't buttoned up his old chequered waistcoat properly, so she had to undo all the buttons and start all over again for him. He found this rather humorous and laughed as she finished. "You have become a mother, did you know that Sarah?" the Doctor laughed as she stood back to check he was suitable.

"Yes, I know", she smiled back at him, "Who would ever think, me, Sarah Jane Smith, a mother".

"Well, I definitely saw the potential back when we were really like this", he told her as their eyes met, but the Doctor shied away and looked down to her feet, "Your laces are undone".

"Oh bother", Sarah Jane said as she bent down to tie up her red laces on her trainers.

Standing back up straight, the Doctor held out his hand and wiggled his fingers at her. Sarah Jane took his hand and they began to head out of the trees into the summer day. Sarah Jane couldn't help but sigh at the sight. It was so familiar, yet felt like it was really thirty or so years ago they had done this together. "You ready for this, Miss Smith", the Doctor said as he nodded his head over to the front gate with a lone guard in a security box, and two patrolling the gate.

"As I'll ever be", Sarah Jane smiled back up at him, whilst the adrenaline in her blood built.

* * *

**AN Post Chapter:** So there it is: Chapter number thirteen. Now, thirteen is my lucky number, so you never know, I could have lots of reviews on this one. I hope you all enjoyed it and that I did Lis proud and chapter fourteen could be on its way this weekend. You never know...


	14. ACT ONE: Infiltrating UNIT

**ACT ONE: Infiltrating UNIT**

"So, what's the plan?" the Doctor wondered in a whisper as he lifted his hat to have a good look at the three guards.

The two of them were hiding in a bush just out of the sight of the guards. On their way over here, the Doctor had tripped over his scarf at least twice, and then telling Sarah when she laughed that 'he was still getting used to it again'. He then got his own back when her long hair got caught in some brambles as they crouched down. Sarah Jane peered over the top of the bush, before sinking back down out of sight again.

"Uh", Sarah Jane thought for a moment, "The usual. Walk up and past them like we own the place?"

"Ah. My favourite", the Doctor grinned at her, before tipping his hat forward, taking her hand and standing abruptly upwards.

* * *

Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart frowned as he looked the beast contained in the room before him. Even though the creature was now calm and quiet, and more than likely asleep, he still couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by it. This was a creature that lived in space most of its life, crashing on Earth, probably once in its lifetime as a youngster, and then only entering an atmosphere for a top up of oxygen that would last it most likely a good twenty years. If it had any form of sentient thought, it would probably think the human race looked like ants compared to them.

The Brigadier had faced Daleks, Cybermen, and Sontarans; yet, every year when he saw the yearlings of the Foogie migration, he could help but break into a never ending smile and want to take one home. But now, seeing a fully grown adult made him reconsider that thought. Somehow, he couldn't see him walking it in the local park. Calling out 'Stew' was bad enough when his greyhound decided to run off, imagine him calling out 'Foogie'. He would be the laughing stock of the small English countryside village he resided in. And Doris wouldn't be impressed with the amount of cleaning up that came with one of these creatures.

Standing up straighter, he flicked a switch on the board in front of him, changing the view screen to another view of the Foogie. He had hoped that when he got back from New York yesterday, that he would have had a quiet week. Oh well. The Foogie was still covered in head to toe of the debris from Buckingham Palace. The Queen wasn't overly impressed that it had crashed into one of her rose beds, but at least it hadn't crashed into the palace itself. Imagine the mess that would have caused. The media would have been all over it. They had enough trouble trying to persuade the public that strange goings on were things caused by residents of Earth and not that of peoples from outer space. For example, not too many weeks ago, there was that odd plant that gave everyone that horrible rash. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone again. All electronic devices went berserk for less than ten seconds, and the plant was gone. Torchwood had denied all but its existence, and all he got from Miss Smith was that everything on her end was good. Perhaps he could bug her about when she gets there in the hour?

Sighing, the old soldier turned to face his fellow comrades, Benton and Yates who couldn't be cared less at the moment. Miss Smith, according to the Private who spoke to her, sounded very interested that they were present, so the Brig had insisted that they stayed to see her. The old team hadn't been together for months now, and a reunion was well overdue. Nothing like a crashed Foogie to bring old friends together, and all they needed was the Doctor, and they would be sorted.

"How much longer until she gets here, if you don't mind me asking, sir?" Benton asked, not removing his eyes from the magazine he was reading, he feet comfortably propped up on the coffee table in front of him.

"She did say half two, didn't she?" Yates commented as he typed something into the laptop on the desk in front of him.

"By half two, Bawden told me. It's only just gone two now", the Brig told them as he sat down of the old sofa next to Benton.

"Well, I hope she is on time and hasn't been caught up with anything else, because to be honest, I remember now why I left UNIT", Benton commented, "There is way too much waiting around for anything to happen".

"Ah", Yates smiled as he turned in the spinning chair to face the other two, "But wasn't the reason we all joined UNIT in the first place because we enjoyed the action".

"Speaking of action", the Brigadier started, "Either of you heard anything of the Doctor lately?"

Before either of them could answer, there was a knock on the door, and Private Bawden entered. He saluted the three soldiers individually before turning to the Brig. "Sir, there is a, um, situation at the front gate", he said, seeming slightly confused.

"Put the camera feed through to the Captain's laptop, Private", the Brig said as he stood, and then with the aid of his cane, walked over to Yates' desk.

"On it now sir", Bawden saluted as he left the room.

Benton hopped up, closing the magazine. This was the most action they had had since eight this morning when the calmed down the Foogie. He gazed over Yates' shoulder as the Captain pulled up the camera feed onto the desktop. It was amazing how fast technology had progressed since he had last properly worked inside UNIT. It took a few seconds for the video link to begin, but then all three men squinted as they looked at the view before them. "Good lord", the Brig said as his mouth dropped open.

"That is not possible", Benton shook his head in disbelief.

"We have to get them out of here before Miss Smith turns up", Yates announced as he stood and ran from the room, faster than he had done in years, grabbing his hat on the way out.

"Sergeant Benton", the Brig poked the other man with the cane in the leg, "After him, quickly".

"Yes sir", Benton saluted, as he then followed in haste after Yates, also grabbing his hat.

* * *

Corporal Gwyn sighed as he placed his phone back into his pocket; still no news from his girlfriend as to whether she had gotten her job or not. Lifting his head to look through the glass of the security box on the UNIT front gate, he watched his two comrades, laugh at a joke one of them had obviously told. It was more likely to be Private Vaughn than Seaman Richards, seeing as he did stand up comedy when he was on leave.

They had all come different parts of the British armed forces, Gwyn himself coming from the RAF, Vaughn from the Army, and finally Richards from the Navy. They were all here as part of UNIT's new recruitment tactic, apparently reminiscent of the one used back in the seventies. They took random men and women from different parts of Her Majesties Armed Forces, and trained them up to deal with the everyday life that confronted a UNIT soldier. Aside from possibly the more violent nature of alien invasions, UNIT life wasn't that bad. The soldiers could stay in their home countries, only having to leave for conferences or exchanges. Of course they had to deal with the Scientific Advisors and their whacky ideas too, but that was not on a frequent basis.

Gwyn was about to read a new text that had alerted itself to him on his phone, when something caught his eye. There were two civilians walking their way, dressed very, well, naff was the first word that popped into the Welshman's head as they almost skipped up to his comrades. The girl, in her twenties, looked like a female version of Andy Pandy, a show the Airman's parents used to watch, dressed in pink striped overalls and with the largest smile on her face. However, the size of her smile was nothing compared to the thousand watt grin her accomplice had. The gentleman, well, what could be said of the way he dressed. He wore a fedora hat, a scarf that was ridiculously long, a large red coat, and was a good six feet plus tall.

Gwyn stood quickly, flicking the 'help' switch on the panel in front of him as he exited the security box. Frowning, he waved at his friends, who stopped talking, and continued to watch the pair walk at them. And they weren't stopping. Gwyn had had enough; especially after they walked right passed the three guards. "Oy, Bach!" he shouted at them, causing them both to stop and turn, "Where'd you think you are going?"

"Well, hopefully, once we are done here", the man answered as he thought for a minute, "We were considering Florana, weren't we Sarah?"

"Finally", the woman replied with a smile, "I'm looking forward to going in that sea".

The three officers looked about each other, confusedly. What the hell were these people on about? "Do you have a pass?" Richards asked them.

"A pass?" the man pulled a face, "Don't you know who I am? You must at least recognise Sarah?"

"Sir, are you aware it is an offence to be on these premises without a pass?" Vaughn stepped forward, "If you don't leave right now, UNIT are not bothered one way or another in having you arrested".

"Well, at least we know that this is UNIT HQ", the woman laughed, and nudged the gentleman; "We finally got to the right place. Well done Doctor".

"I told you we would get here eventually Sarah", the man smiled at her, "Now, my dear fellows, would you mind telling me what year it is?"

"Year, sir" Gwyn frowned at the pair.

"Yes, can you please tell us the year", the woman smiled at him.

"Its 2009", Richards laughed, "How drunk are you two?"

"Oh Doctor", the woman thumped her male counterpart, "You got us to the right place in space, but thirty years out".

"Hey, at least it is the right place", the man told her as he rubbed his arm where her fist had made contact.

"Dear God", someone breathed behind the pair, and the three officers stood to attention, "It's not a bloody hoax then?"

"Yates my good man", the man approached the Captain, arm outstretched to shake his hand, "So good to see you again.

The expression on Yates' face was priceless. If only the three officers could take a photo of it right now, they could be the focus of conversation in the mess for the next two weeks as the ones who caught a senior officer off guard. Vaughn sighed inside as Sergeant Major Benton then turned up, with exactly the same expression as his comrade. "Oh, please say I had way too much to drink last night", the old army officer moaned as he frowned at the odd pair, "Is it really you Doctor, Miss Smith?"

"Who else would we be?" the Doctor laughed, "C'mon Sarah, I don't think we will be needing those passes after all".

* * *

The Brigadier made his way as quickly as he could to the Doctor's old lab. It felt almost like old times watching Yates and Benton rush off in their old uniforms after the Doctor; even if it was the Doctor at the gates. However, the Brig's mind kept telling him this was most likely a hoax or coincidence that a drunk was dressed up in the exact same clothes as his old Scientific Advisor, but deep down, he was really hoping that it was the Time Lord from Galifrey.

The Doctor's old lab was almost exactly as it had been left, bar the odd piece of machinery that was being stored in there. The occasional advisor would use the room as their labs didn't have enough space for their experiments, but otherwise nothing had changed. The last report the Doctor had filled out in triplicate sat unfinished on one of the desks, right next to the half complete article of Miss Smith's on Kettle-well's Robot, and a pile of letters unopened, that had ceased to grow in the eighties.

Alistair went for the nearest chair, and literally poured the dust off of the seat. At least the spiders had not found their way in here. Most likely scared off by the stories of what the Doctor would do to them. He winced slightly in pain as his old age complaints made yet another appearance. It only seemed like yesterday that he was chasing after the grey haired Doctor and Dr Shaw as they faced down the Autons. And now look at him.

There was a commotion outside, and several voices echoed down the bare corridor outside, that was rarely walked down these days. He frowned as he had to stand again, putting almost all of his weight onto his cane. As he finished standing, the double doors burst open, and Benton walked in followed by the two supposed intruders and then finally Yates. His two comrades removed their hats as they pulled out more chairs, whilst the new people, just looked around the room in awe.

"Doctor?" the Brigadier frowned, "Miss Smith?"

"Alistair, my good chap", the Doctor turned to face him with his thousand watt smile; "How good it is to see you again".

"Same to you, Doctor", the Brigadier looked at him puzzled, whilst Sarah giggled under her hand that covered her mouth, "Uh, might I ask, what are you two doing here?"

"Well, that's nice", Sarah laughed as she took a dust covered chair from Benton, "We back to give you a hand, and that is what we get".

"We heard, well, I heard that you had a Foogie problem", the Doctor ginned as he walked over to stand behind the sat Sarah Jane.

The Brigadier gulped, as did Benton and Yates as the three of them looked about each other. Miss Smith was due any minute now, and yet she was already here. Things were about to get even more complicated, but little did they know, it wasn't really. "Doctor, what is a Foogie?" Sarah asked as she tilted her head to look at the Time Lord.

"A Foogie, my dear Sarah Jane, is a creature that lives most of its life in outer space, constantly moving from one solar system to another, feeding off solar flares", he explained to her, whilst Sarah continued to smile, "It just so happens that their migration, every year during the summer months, passes Earth, and the occasional one crash lands. And it also just so happens, that they seem to land in Great Britain more than anywhere else on Earth".

"You are one hundred percent correct Doctor", Yates said quickly, "And we don't have a problem, we have experts to deal with them, so you can be on your way".

"Yes", Benton agreed as he pushed the Doctor out of the way and began to pull the chair out from under Sarah Jane, "And we have no time for a reunion now, as we are very busy, neck deep in paper work too".

"And, don't you have to be back in the seventies, helping UNIT with, uh, Zygons, and um, Kraals?" the Brig looked to his two fellow officers for help, and they nodded at him being correct with the name, "So, no time to waste, get back in that box of yours and off you go".

"Nah", the Doctor smiled thrusting his hands into his pockets, unaware to the UNIT men sounding slightly like his tenth incarnation, "Sarah and me thought we would hang about here for a bit".

"2009", Sarah sighed as she sat further back into the chair Benton was still trying to get out from underneath her, "Do you have flying cars?"

Alistair looked desperately at his men. If Miss Smith were to turn up now, it would be a disaster. He knew all too well what happened when the past and the present collided, and it wasn't pretty. And come to think of it, two Sarah Jane's wasn't a nice thought either. Alien life would run away screaming, not to mention him. And don't forget the Doctor; Miss Smith had been heart broken when this Doctor had left her. What kind of emotions could be flying around this base?

He looked to Sarah and the Doctor. They were smiling at him expectantly, as if they were waiting for him to say something. He was about to open his mouth, but then thought about it and gulped instead. He leant forward on his cane, and then took a hand to the bridge of his nose and pinched the skin. What was he going to do?

And then, there was laughter; unmistakable laughter from the Doctor and Sarah Jane. They were laughing at him, rolling on the floor almost in fits. The Doctor was pointing at each of the UNIT officers in turn, and making undistinguishable sounds in-between to Sarah Jane, which made her laugh even harder. "Your faces!" the Doctor finally said, "You should've seen them!"

"This is even better than when Luke tripped you up with the Ice Warriors at dinner last night!" Sarah Jane said to the Doctor.

"Miss Smith, what is going on?" the Brigadier bellowed.

This was not adding up. Luke was Miss Smith's adopted son, in the present. Her past self shouldn't even know about him! And then what's this about the Doctor being at dinner? What the hell was going on? As the old soldier looked to his officers, they seemed to be sharing the same sort of thoughts. "Well Sir Alistair, I don't know whether you will believe it or not", Sarah smiled at him, "But it is a very long story".

* * *

After a good twenty minutes of explanations and reciting the past few days' events to the three men, the Doctor took a sip of tea that had been kindly provided halfway through the meeting. Thankfully, Benton and Yates had large grins on their faces now, and there was a slight smile creeping into the corner of the Brig's mouth. Deep down though, the old army dog felt the slightest bit jealous over the whole incident, but then reminded himself how much he had hated school.

"So, let's get this straight", John Benton laughed after a sip of his coffee, "You just saw the opportunity this morning to play this awesome prank on us, packed up your goodies, and came here?"

"Not straight away", Sarah explained, "We had to go to school first".

"And how are you finding that?" Mike Yates asked them.

"A nightmare", both Sarah Jane and the Doctor answered together.

Another round of laughter echoed around the old lab, with even the Brig joining in this time, and breaking out into a proper smile. It had taken some explaining for him to get the hang of what was going on. The Doctor was his tenth incarnation, but somehow looked like his forth at the present, but at others would look like his third and ninth. And the same went for Miss Smith, except she wasn't going through incarnations, but rather ages.

They had then gone on to catch up; in the 'reunion' Benton had called it and said they didn't have time for. They discussed Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, and the odd Slitheen or two too. Benton discussed with them how he was now going into classic car sales when he could eventually get away from UNIT this time, and Yates told them about his market garden in the country, which Sarah Jane made him discuss with her at length. The old soldiers complained about the itchiness of the old uniforms, and Sarah Jane and the Doctor joined in too about their choice of clothing.

Another subject was family, and Benton told them about his grandchildren, whilst Yates told them about his coming great grandchildren. The Brigadier had made a joke about great great grandchildren, and then the Doctor wished him luck with it all. He, even though Sarah Jane knew now it was a hard topic for the Doctor, talked at great length about his family for once, revealing to Benton and Yates the joys of grandchildren. Sarah Jane felt that she could speak in confidence with these UNIT personnel about Luke, telling them as much as she could about him, with the hope that it would be put on a special record that they were to leave him well alone. She smiled when the Brigadier rolled his eyes when she mentioned him being top-secret, knowing that he knew that there was a lot of paper work coming his way over the next few days.

"Hey, um, Doctor", Sarah Jane started after a quick sip of her tea, "Perhaps we should go and visit the Nunton Nuclear Complex whilst we look like this".

"Ah yes", the Doctor sighed with a smile, "Good old Professor Watson. Would give him a good old fright to turn up there again, wouldn't it?"

"Don't you dare", the Brig grumbled, if with a teasing smile, "That was one of the costliest clean-ups UNIT has ever faced. Just be glad that nuclear power station personnel are sworn to secrecy, so an extra injunction on anything they say, referring to that day doesn't harm much".

"Speaking of harm", Benton leant forward, "Haven't we got a Foogie to deal with?"

"Yes", the Brig said as he placed his cup down on the nearby counter and readied himself to stand, "Miss Smith, if you would be so kind as to activate that teleport for us".

"I would, but I will need help giving it a quick once over", Sarah told him, "Perhaps the finest UNIT has to offer these days? Also, I think the Doctor would like to have a good look at it".

"I would indeed", the Doctor said after gulping down the last of his tea and four sugars, "Two adult Foogies and no younglings? That sounds very odd from what Sarah has been telling me. I also wouldn't mind if you could help me establish a link with my TARDIS. I need to take some readings to compare it to the other one we found".

"You took readings off of it?" Sarah frowned at him as she took Benton and Yates' cups off of them and placed them next to hers on the counter by the Brig's.

"Sarah, the TARDIS made your attic in Ealing double the size for it", the Doctor smiled, "I doubt she would have missed the opportunity to not take some readings. Unless that is she is really angry at me".

"No", Sarah looked upwards at nothing in particular and bit her lip in thought, "I think she has forgiven you somewhat after seeing how tired twenty-five sixteen year olds made you".

"Did you tell her", the Doctor winced, knowing that the TARDIS would never let him live that down; he can handle a platoon of Judoon, but class of sixteen year olds?

"She laughed", Sarah shrugged, laughing slightly her-self.

"Not meaning to rush you or anything", Benton said from the door, and the Doctor and Sarah looked around to find the lab now void of any humans bar Sarah and Benton's head, "But could you stop talking in riddles and hurry on up?"

* * *

The Foogie was being kept in a very highly guarded aircraft hanger, with UNIT's finest at every access point and more around the building. Scientific advisors, medical staff, and many other personnel looked on as they watched the Brigadier and his two most trusted men cross the tarmac to the green metal hanger, followed by the strangest looking pair if one ever did lay eyes upon them. The girl was skipping ahead in a pink pinstripe pyjamas and a red top, reminiscent of Andy Pandy, trying to keep up with the army men in front and at the same time, encouraging the man who was following her to keep up. She would skip so far forward, then realise that her male companion was nowhere beside her, and in fact he had stopped to gaze at the UNIT architecture, which was by no means special at all.

Gwyn, Vaughn and Richards looked on with their arms crossed, puzzled by the strange pair, they had stopped at the front gate before shift change over. Apparently, these two had some high standing with the bosses at UNIT, and could walk around the base without even so much as an identity badge. Sergeant Major Benton had said in passing that their passes did exist, and would be somewhere in the archives, most likely mixed up in some documents on Zygons, Kraals, and Krynoids. The thing that got the three friends was that all of those invasions were circa 1970s, and the man would have at most been ten years old, and the girl wouldn't have even been born.

The three men did not redirect their gaze even as Private Bawden approached them, also no relieved of duties for now. "Apparently, that is Miss Smith and the Doctor", the young Private told them as he copied his fellow servicemen's positions.

"I thought Miss Smith was supposed to be an old bird", Richards frowned, "Not a wee university student".

"And isn't the Doctor supposed to be some heralded advisor or something?" Vaughn added.

"Yeah, he was behind that bus that disappeared at Easter", Gwyn told them, "But that is not the bloke I saw chatting with Captain Magambo".

"Neither is he the skinny chatterbox that worked with us on the Sontaran invasion last year", Bawden shook his head; "Colonel Mace said he was a time travelling alien or something like that".

"Well, if he is an alien", Vaughn turned to face them all puzzled, "Shouldn't we be dissecting him or something?"

"Under the rules and regulations the Brigadier and his accomplices invented in the seventies, all aliens we are aware of have to go through an examination, and their visit recorded", Gwyn started as they all watched the five begin to enter the hanger, "The Doctor however, is exempt from that. Seasonal pass or something it was explained to me at the bus incident".

"I heard it was more like something to do with him being an endangered species", Bawden laughed, "As if aliens could be classified as endangered".

* * *

**AN: **Seeing that Mrs Dalek is on the verge of dying if this is not posted this week, I thought I should post this this-evening. Especially also seeing as I will be away for the next four days visiting the Oxford and Cambridge open days. God help me. Don't worry, I'll make sure to say hello to Luke and K9 whilst I am there, that is if they are still there!

I'm sorry to any of you who notice the shorter length of this chapter. It only misses the mark by about 500 words, but I really didn't want to start with the Foogie until the next chapter. I hope you liked the OCs. I'm quite proud of those four gentlemen; maybe I should promote them...

Thanks for reading!

Stitch54.


	15. ACT TWO: Commandeering UNIT

**ACT TWO: Commandeering UNIT**

"Rani" Maxx started as he looked up from his Spanish text book, "Where did Sarah Jane and Dr Smith go again".

"For the last time Maxx", Rani sighed, this was getting ridiculous him asking this question ever five minutes, "Sarah Jane's parents work at Longleat and have very funny shifts, so the only time Sarah Jane gets to see them is Wednesday afternoons when she goes to see them, and Sundays when they come down here. She'll be back tomorrow".

"Alright", Maxx nodded, but his tone told Rani that even though Rani's story was consistent every five minutes he asked, he still didn't buy it completely.

"I don't see why you are bothered by it so much anyway", Rani shook her head as she went back to translating a piece of text, "It's not like you two are going out and she is keeping things from you".

There was silence on Maxx's part as he continued to flick through his books, daring not to make eye-contact with Rani, or Rhi who had looked up noticing the silence coming from the boy. "You fancy her don't you?" Rhi said in realisation

"No", Maxx argued a little too quickly, "I just like her".

"You like-like her", Rani teased with a wicked grin.

"So what if I do", Maxx frowned as he still avoided eye-contact with the girls, "I'm a teenage boy. Am I not allowed to fancy girls?"

"Of course you are", Rani laughed, "It's just... I don't think Sarah Jane would be interested".

* * *

"You four", a voice called from behind, "We need your assistance in Hanger 3".

"So much for going for a cuppa", Seaman Richards complained as he stopped and turned on his heels.

Richards, Gwyn, Bawden and Vaughn were all heading for the UNIT canteen to calm down after their patrol. Just as they were about to cross the threshold of no return which was the doorway into the brick UNIT house where all the offices, kitchens and canteen halls were located, Sergeant Major Benton had called them back. The SM always had the best timing.

With a groan, the four UNIT soldiers dug out their red berets and headed back out for hanger 3, following SM Benton who was in his old style dress uniform back from the seventies. Even though the SM and Captain Yates were retired, along with the Brig, UNIT always seemed to bring them back every now and again. For some reason, the big wigs at the top seemed to lack the common sense to do things right and still needed to dust down the old UNIT dogs and put them to work again. Captain Yates was forced to retire over thirty years ago, and SM Benton retired just under, yet still, here they were. The most recent recruits could only hope that when they retired, they could still wiggle their way back into work. Once a member of UNIT, always a member of UNIT- that was the motto that seemed to be becoming popular in the barracks.

Hanger 3 was where, if Richards remembered correctly, the Foogie was being kept, and where 'the Doctor and Miss Smith' had disappeared into following the Brig, Captain Yates and SM Benton. They, being the disposable force within UNIT, had spent forever trying to get the Foogie into the hanger. The boffins from the Scientific Advisory Department were a nightmare for the soldiers trying to coordinate a smooth operation whilst they kept trying to get reading and inputting useless ideas of how to contain the creature. Thank goodness Miss Smith told Bawden this morning how to contain it.

But all their hard work seemed to have been for nothing, for as soon as they were through the small metal door within the larger hanger sliding doors, they were greeted by absolute panic. The Foogie was running a complete riot in the hanger, scrambling up the walls and scratching its large talons at the metal roof. Thankfully the hanger was being refurbished, and so was mostly empty bar a few Land Rovers in the process of decommissioning, as this Foogie was wild and crashing into everything it could. Captain Yates and 'the Doctor' were chasing it around the room, trying to corner it, whilst the Brig was holding and passing pieces of equipment to 'Miss Smith' who was fussing about a large cannon looking thing. The UNIT men knew this to be the transmat to the moon that Miss Smith turned on every summer for them to send Foogies to the moon by themselves. Good thing they had Moon Base to keep the other end in check.

"Hey, you chaps!" the Doctor shouted over to them, "Think you can help me corner it into a corner?"

The four UNIT men looked about each other. At least they would sleep well tonight, and maybe, just maybe if they did a good job, it could mean a bonus or even a promotion. The latter would be better. With a shrug, they boys placed their red berets back onto their heads and chased after SM Benton who then began to give orders. "Richards, on your right! Mind your head Bawden! Gwyn, tail at twelve o'clock! Vaughn, move in a bit more!" and many others were directed at them.

All the while, the Doctor was making eye-contact with the beast as it flapped around and chanting something at it. As they cornered it, the Foogie seemed to calm down, breathing heavily with its nostrils flared on its large yellow beak. Its blue eyes searched frantically around the room, but always came back to look at the Doctor every time he opened his mouth. Eventually, it curled up into a ball on the floor, tucking its wings in and laid its head down on the floor. Its tail with splayed feathers on the end thumped the floor every so often like an annoyed cat as the muscles under the grey reinforced armoured skin twitched. "Good job gentlemen. Just keep these positions and the Foogie shouldn't move", the Doctor smiled at them, "Sarah, how's the transmat coming along?"

"Okay, I'm just trying to make contact with Moon base", she told them as she typed something into a small keyboard and looked at a small screen that would just pass for a television. "Liz, come in, Liz", she said into a microphone, only to be greeted by white noise, "Brigadier, do you mind keeping an eye on this whilst the Doctor and I check it over".

"Sure thing", the Brig replied as he sat himself down into the seat Sarah Jane just vacated.

"Actually, before you send it off, do you mind if I do my own tests? I just need to dash back to my lab for two ticks", the Doctor said as he turned from the Foogie and started walking over to Sarah Jane, "Benton, Yates, mind joining me?"

The two men shrugged and left their four younger counterparts staring at the Foogie. Vaughn gulped as the bird like alien stared straight into his eyes. It was if it was giving him a very evil stare, but in fact it was just curious as to what the hell this pink thing dressed in black and red was so afraid of. "Hey, what if the hypnosis breaks?" Sarah stopped him as he strode past her with his hands in his pockets.

"Corner it and ask the TARDIS for help", the Doctor shrugged, "That's all I can offer until we get back".

"Okay", Sarah nodded, "We'll tell Liz not to hurry".

"Yes, who is this Liz?" the Doctor frowned and crossed his arms.

"Liz, as in Dr Liz Shaw", Benton laughed at him as the two older men approached them, and the penny dropped the Doctor as he opened his mouth and made and 'O' shape at Sarah.

"She is our resident Scientific Advisor at Moon Base", the Brigadier continued, "Decided a life in Cambridge was too quiet, but a life in UNIT was too hectic, so we offered her the SA position at Moon Base. Think she quite enjoys it, strange woman".

"Sounds like Liz", the Doctor laughed, "Yates, Benton, come along then".

* * *

"So, we have the place to ourselves", Clyde smiled as he rubbed his hands together, "What' cha want to do?"

Rani whacked Clyde in the arm as they walked through the front door of number thirteen. Luke shook his head in despair at the two. His mother was gone for the evening, and all Clyde could think about was how to best take advantage of the 'Sarah Jane-less' and 'Time Lord-less' house. Last time, Clyde couldn't decide whether to raid the cupboards, look through Sarah Jane's photo albums which she never let them see, or get Luke to catch up on all the Disney films he had missed out on. They had settled on Disney films when Rani had intervened and thought it best not to leave the two boys alone up to their own devices in Sarah Jane's house. Thank God Luke had Rani again; otherwise Clyde might have done something or gotten him to do something both of them would regret. He was suggesting in afternoon registration that they persuade the TARDIS to let them have alcohol.

"Well, seeing as Sarah Jane's house is now the TARDIS", Rani smiled as they dropped their bags onto the floor in the hallway, "And we have yet to fully explore all the extra rooms, how 'bout we go swimming?"

"And how am I supposed to explain to my mum why I have come home to get my goggles and towel?" Clyde frowned at Rani, with his arms splayed.

"Um, you don't have to", Luke smiled, like Clyde was being stupid, which he was, "I now live in a TARDIS house, with a TARDIS wardrobe".

"Oh yeah", Clyde said looking off into the distance; "Do you think along with swimming wear, the TARDIS will have other things too. Like flippers, floatables and snorkels?"

"Or the alien equivalent", Rani shrugged.

And with that the three teenagers exchanged excited looks clambered on up the stairs racing each other to one of the bedrooms to access the wardrobe. It was an excellent idea to go swimming. They had all said once they had seen the pool that they had to go swimming at some point. Even though they were supposed to be revising, this was a much better idea. Also, Luke didn't need to revise, Clyde couldn't really be bothered and felt he always did better when he crammed at the last minute, and Rani had discovered on Monday that all her exams were nicely spread out and that she could afford to have at least one night off a week. With all of them still laughing, they fell into Luke's room, opened up his wardrobe door, and stepped into the TARDIS expanse.

* * *

"Miss Smith", the Brigadier called, "Transmat is now at seventy-five percent on our end".

"Thanks Sir Alistair", Sarah Jane smiled as she finished drawing up an outline for her checklist for the Foogie.

She looked at the space bird. It was so calm, it had fallen asleep. The Doctor's hypnosis must have been better than he thought. Well, at least she was less likely to have to call upon the TARDIS. She loved the machine and all, but she didn't particularly want it invading her head now in the middle of UNIT. She could trust the Brig to keep everything hush hush, but she didn't know the four boys who were standing around the Foogie nervously. None of them had said anything since entering the hanger. Must be scared witless, Sarah thought

Even though the Foogie was asleep, and it looked dead cute too with its eyes closed and curled up in a ball, she was going to disturb it to do her checks. And that wasn't even the big thing worrying her. It was big. Bigger than what she was used to and bigger again from the one she had in the attic on Sunday. It was at least double the size. It was big enough that she could probably saddle it and ride around on its back. "Uh..., you", she pointed to one of the four men.

"Private Vaughn Miss", he saluted her with a Liverpool accent, "How can I be of assistance?"

"Yes, uh, Private", she nodded, thinking about how she would put forward what she wanted him to do, "Do you mind holding its wing up for me whilst I look for it tracker?"

The Private gulped, and his comrades looked about each other nervously. "Um, yes", he replied quietly as he stepped forward cautiously.

Sarah directed him to the front portion of the closest wing, where most of the mass was. Vaughn bent down and lifted the wing at a joint, and jumped when he saw the head tucked underneath it. The Foogie's eyes opened and the blue iris stared straight at him. It snorted at him, before Miss Smith stood in front of him and bent down to its head. She was unbelievably close to the beak that looked like it could puncture her in two without a second thought. Then she did unimaginable; she stroked it! Of all the things she could have done to make him feel better, she stroked the Foogie.

In the past, the UNIT personnel had never been allowed to touch the small Foogies which they were all more accustomed to, let alone stroke it like a pet. However, this action to the space bird seemed to send it back into its doze, and Miss Smith continued with her examination.

Under the wing, about a foot away from where the wing jutted out from the body, was a small black patch with a very thin wire extending out from it, perpendicular to the length of the wing. It was amazing to think that this small device could withstand the forces of outer space, whereas NASA were still trying to develop a shuttle that could withstand the forces of lift off an re-entry to the international space station and back.

Sarah Jane went straight up to it, and if Vaughn happened to drop the wing, she would have most likely been crushed. She gazed closely at it, made a note on her checklist and then turned to the remaining three soldiers standing guard. She looked at each one of them, deciding which one of them looked the most nervous. The skinny freckly one in the middle was the one she concluded. With a grin on her face, she was about to make him panic. OH, you are evil Sarah Jane Smith! she thought to herself. "Um, you in the middle", she pointed at the poor boy; he could only just be twenty, bless.

"Private Bawden Miss Smith", he saluted nervously, glancing back between her and the Foogie.

"Private, can you possibly do something for me?" she smiled innocently at him, and noticed the Brig chuckling quietly to himself over the Private's shoulder.

"Ye-yes", he stuttered.

Sarah Jane reached into her pocket and threw her car keys at him. "Can you bring my car 'round? I have equipment in there that I will need", she smiled at him.

"Yes Ma'am", he saluted, letting a breath he probably didn't know he was holding.

With that, Bawden jogged from the room, stopping to salute the Brig on the way. But as he reached the door, it burst open, and the Doctor entered pulling a trolley full of equipment, followed by Mike who was pushing and then finally Benton who was carrying a box full of bits and pieces of metal with wires and various cables sticking and hanging out over the edge. Bawden saluted them too, before slipping past them out into the summer's afternoon.

"Ah Sarah", the Doctor called as he saw his companion checking underneath the Foogie wing, "How are you checks coming?"

"Slowly", Sarah grumbled as her attention was suddenly brought to something on the Foogie's foot.

"And Alistair?" the Doctor strolled up to the Brig, "How's the link coming with Liz?"

"Uh, she has just signed in", the Brig smiled as he suddenly started to type into the keyboard, "It's going to take a few minutes until the link is fully operational, but I'll give you a bell when she's up".

Benton carried his box of goodies and deposited them slightly back from the Foogie, but closer than where Gwyn and Richards were standing like lost souls. With Vaughn holding up the wing, keeping the Foogie under control all by them-selves seemed pretty ridiculous as it could easily escape. But now they had SM Benton and Captain Yates to keep them company. Mike did the same with his trolley of stuff and went to stand on the opposite side of Gwyn to Benton.

The Doctor, satisfied with the progress of the link with Liz, came to join Sarah under the Foogie with the first of his sensor patches. He frowned when he noticed Sarah staring intently at the Foogie's foot, not even noticing that he was right behind her. "Everything alright Sarah?" the Doctor asked as he bent down next to her.

"You see this cut here?" she pointed to a small scratch on the scales of the claws just above the talons.

"Yes", the Doctor nodded, "Looks like the result of crashing into Buckingham Palace Gardens if you ask me".

"But I'm not asking you", Sarah told him, "The Foogie we had back in the attic had exactly the same mark, except this one is bigger and slightly deeper".

The Doctor dug around in his pockets, and sighed when he pulled out his old sonic. "I left my new sonic in my coat pocket", the Doctor bit his lip, "That one would have been able to tell me something about the injury. How did I ever cope with this piece of scrap?"

"Oy, don't insult the screwdriver", Sarah laughed, "If you hadn't had that one, you would have never made your new one, or my lipstick. Also, I've sent Bawden to fetch the car for us".

"Good", the Doctor nodded, before leaning forward and looking at the cut even closer, "No, impossible, that's impossible".

"What's impossible?" a voice called out from behind them.

The Doctor and Sarah turned around to see immediately Benton and Mike grinning from ear to ear, and the Brig sitting back proudly in his chair. The four of them raced over to the Brig, and the Doctor gave Vaughn a pat on the shoulder and pulled him away from his precarious position holding up the Foogie wing, back to his guarding post for now.

The Doctor couldn't stop beaming as he gazed upon Liz Shaw displayed on the small monitor. She hadn't changed much at all, and knowing Liz, he was probably about to get an earful for not visiting her or for getting Sarah involved in the mess they were currently in. Who knows how much each of them has shared in these yearly links about him?

But as Liz squinted at the small image of the five people on Earth on her end, something was not quite fitting. She frowned as she recognised Sarah, but then was fully confused when she deduced that the beaming gentleman was the Doctor. "Hi Liz", Benton smiled, "Nice day on the moon?"

"Lovely thanks", Liz continued to frown, "Sarah dear, what have you done to yourself, and who is the grinning loon?"

"Nice to see you again too Liz", the Doctor huffed.

"That Dr Shaw, is the Doctor", the Brig answered before Sarah could say anything, "And there is a spot of bother with his TARDIS which has affected Miss Smith here".

"Which makes her look as young as when we first met?" Liz asked.

"Yes", the Doctor and Sarah answered together, before Sarah continued, "And by the way, this isn't what the Doctor is supposed to look like. He supposed to be tall and skinny, but the 'spot of bother' has affected him too".

"Serves him right if you have been pulled into whatever as a result of his gallivanting across time and space", Liz laughed, "And why have you not visited me? I'm on the moon you know. You could have said 'hi' when the Judoon transmated that hospital up here".

"How do you even know I was there?" the Doctor frowned.

"Sarah", Liz and the three soldiers around the Doctor said, before Liz continued, "You should never leave two companions working in UNIT, Doctor, who did not meet when you were around. It results in coffee mornings and long calls to the moon via Mr Smith".

"Great, not only have I got the TARDIS and Sarah picking on me at every opportunity they have, I now have you Dr Shaw to add to my misery", the Doctor smiled sarcastically.

"Hey, it's your own fault", Liz laughed, "Look Sarah, tell me all the details later, I've got to sort out this transmat for your Foogies. Now, back to the point, what's impossible?"

"Yes Doctor, it seemed you were onto something", Mike added.

"I was, yes", the Doctor stood and faced the Foogie, biting his fingernail, before turning back to face them, "It looks like the Foogie was shot".

"Shot?" the Brig frowned.

"Yes, it looks like a mark left by a tight lasso that was shot an incredible force", the Doctor frowned.

"But, if someone is shooting down the Foogies, shouldn't there be more reports of them falling from the sky?" Sarah wondered, "More of them crash landing due to injury?"

"Not unless whoever is shooting them got to them before we did", Mike suggested.

"Exactly Mike", the Doctor nodded, "It would seem then that the two we have witnessed escaped or the shooting was miscalculated".

"Who would do such a thing?" Liz said shocked.

"Foogies have limited regenerative properties", Sarah explained, "It helps them heal quicker. I had one once in Torchwood that had a broken leg and a deep laceration on its head that I think in a human would have been fatal. But within an hour, it was looked as though the Foogie only had a small scratch on its head. That's why we have to be quick; otherwise we can't study their entry into the Earth's atmosphere".

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Something was niggling in the back of the Doctor's mind, something that he should've remembered instantly. It was staring him right in the face, but what was it? Then, it hit him like a train as he started to dance around the small group. "Andrea!" he shouted.

"Who's Andrea?" Sarah wondered as the Doctor took her by the arms.

"The Biology teacher", the Doctor said to her, "We are going on a trip to a Beauty Lab at the end of next week".

"Oh nice of you to tell me", Sarah sighed.

"Don't you listen in class?" the Doctor frowned at her, "I mentioned it in Physics, and I doubt whoever your form tutor is forgot to mention it to you all".

"Hey, I'm a teenager now. Don't expect me to remember everything", she told him, but neither of them noticed the very confused faces looking at them from off to the side, "What has this got to do with the disappearing Foogies?"

"They have a new product with 'regenerative properties'", the Doctor let go of Sarah.

"Right, you men", the Brig stood, "Get a squad together, we are going to this Lab of the Doctor's".

"Oh no, no, no", the Doctor stopped him; "You can't do that?"

"Why not" Mike demanded; "They are holding aliens illegally!"

"What if it's not them?" the Doctor shrugged, "UNIT barge in there, all guns blazing. Word is going to spread quickly. No doubt that will alert the real culprits that we are onto them".

"So, are we going spying Doctor?" Sarah wondered.

"It seems we are", the Doctor waggled his eyebrows with a large smile.

* * *

Screams of laughter bounced around the walls of Sarah Jane's house. They echoed in the alcoves and were carried up the stairs into the attic. K9 stood guard at the open door to the airing cupboard, knowing that if he were to enter, his circuits would never be the same again. The airing cupboard seemed a very unlikely place for a swimming pool to be contained within, mainly because no human on Earth ever had or ever would have one in their airing cupboard; and were even less likely to have a leisure centre sized one with slides and fountains.

Inside, the walls were a light shade of blue, with the red brick of the house breaking through in various places. The copper piping for the house jutted out in random locations, and then disappeared back into the wall again. The floor was a mix between anti-slip tiles and dark wooden floorboards and by the main door in, the towel racks and toiletry supplies remained. It was like walking through a sort of tunnel until you entered into a well lit open space.

There was a small paddling area that got deeper and deeper as you went in further into the wave pool that activated itself every fifteen minutes. Off to the side, was a twenty-five metre pool for lengths and then off that again was a very deep diving pool. The boards seemed to go to incredible heights, and the TARDIS had seen sense and blocked the ones above five metres, knowing Clyde would break his neck if he went any higher.

Floating on the water were numerous inflatable objects and polystyrene shapes that had been used so many times in the past two hours, it was unbelievable. All around the pool edges, tubes plunged into the water from the slides that started off high and rings floated aimlessly abandoned in the water.

But sitting in a warm Jacuzzi under a canopy of palms and other tropical plants, sipping pop of all sorts were Rani, Clyde and Luke. Rani sighed as she leant back into the warm bubbles as Clyde placed his glass back under the refill. "Makes you think why the Doctor ever leaves the TARDIS", Luke sighed as he took another sip of his Coke.

"The answer can't be that he is bored with it", Rani laughed, "How can anyone be bored of this?"

"I'm definitely not", Clyde smiled, "You know how they say 'time flies when you're having fun'. What time is it?"

"Spoil sport", Rani grinned as she leant back and picked up her watch, but her eyes widened at the time, "It's half eight. I should've been home half an hour ago!"

Rani quickly leapt from the pool, grabbing the towel closest to her and wrapping it around her body. She had picked out this lovely pink bikini earlier, and loved the way it made Clyde gawk at her. The boys had settles on novelty trunks. Luke had chosen one with equations all over and had spent quiet some time in front of a mirror by some showers reading them all off and working out what they were for, backwards too. And Clyde, being Clyde, found a pair which looked like the TARDIS.

Almost like sensing that time was up, the walls around them shimmered and the whole room shrunk to just about the size of the Jacuzzi and a door that looked exactly like the airing cupboard door opened up magically in the wall next to Rani. The boys sighed, knowing that they had to get out to, grabbed their towels and followed Rani through the door into the changing room.

* * *

Sarah Jane looked to her watch. It was fast approaching nine o'clock. Where did the time go? The past few hours had been spent by the Doctor doing every imaginable test to the Foogie, and her, Benton and Mike researching up this Derm Factory as they had now learnt its name, with Liz adding her comments every so often and the Brig disappearing off and coming with information nobody would have ever obtained on the company by just being on the internet alone.

They looked through bank statements, police records, conspiracy theories, and even Torchwood data. Sarah had asked Jack to send her some information on it, but almost like an out of office do it yourself message, he sent her instructions on how to access the computer from wherever she was, but then to wipe the UNIT records. The Brig rolled his eyes at that and muttered something along the lines of 'bloody Torchwood', but a lot more explicit than to be mentioned in polite conversation.

Sarah looked up to Liz who was working on her end. They had recently sent the Foogie back and she was making sure it was getting away. The Doctor had placed a tracker himself on it so he knew exactly where this Foogie was. Said Time Lord was currently finishing writing up his results so he could form conclusions when they got home. He did tell her nine o'clock they would finish up, mainly because what was due to happen at that time. "Things are going to be getting a lot more complicated in the next five minutes", Sarah laughed out-loud as she watched the military men dismiss the young men who had now all received overtime and recommendations each from the Brig for promotion, "The Doctor and I'll be lucky to get out of here alive if one of the boffins come in".

"Hey, I'm one of those boffins you are offending there", Liz smiled as she stopped working, "How could you possibly know that Sarah? I know you said you could sense things what with the TARDIS being in your head and what not. But I doubt even you will know what will happen in exactly five minutes".

"You know what I was telling you about this whole thing about me and the Doctor shifting through regenerations and ages?" Sarah turned to Liz, who nodded remembered the long conversation she and Sarah had whilst the boys sorted the Foogie out, "Well he and I turn back to what we are supposed to look like".

"What, the Sarah I know, and the Doctor UNIT most recently knows?" Liz frowned.

"Yup", Sarah replied, "So look, I'm going to go and get changed out of this get up. I'll look a right loon back in Ealing like this".

"You never know, you may start a new fashion trend", Liz laughed, "If I remember correctly, on Earth, all it takes is one person to start the wagon rolling. Andy Pandy will be back on the scene in hours, you just wait and see".

"Thanks Liz", Sarah giggled as she stood, "You'll probably never see me again like this", and then sighed as she looked at the Doctor, "Or him like that".

"It's really hard on you seeing him like this again, isn't it?" Liz asked her.

Sarah sighed as she looked back at Liz. "It breaks my heart", Sarah choked back tears honestly, "But every time I look at him, I know that it is going to end soon, and I'll never see him like this again".

"He really did hurt you, didn't he", Liz was getting slightly worked up now, "If I get my hands on him, I'll kick his Time Lord butt all the way from the Moon to Pluto and then into the distant beyond".

* * *

**AN:** Ah, its good to be back. Sorry to have taken so bleeding long; school, life and whatnot caught up with me. Right, I'm off to do some maths homework. See ya when I see ya. Stitch54.


	16. Seeing Yellow, Red and the TARDIS

**Seeing Yellow, Red and the TARDIS**

Sarah returned from changing in the toilet, brushing the slight curls she had made to fit in with her appearance in the seventies out, to find the Doctor pacing back and forth, dressed now back into his black suit. However, he kept the scarf, and he kept running his hands through his curly hair. He smiled when he saw his Sarah Jane walk back into the room dressed back in some more sensible clothing compared to her Andy Pandy get up. "Ready to go home?" he smiled at her.

"Not quite yet", Sarah answered as she caught her car keys being thrown at her.

The Doctor had obviously gotten them back from Bawden. She was actually more amazed that she had managed to catch them from the distance he had thrown. Even with the Doctor being an alien and all, which Sarah had to constantly remind herself about, she knew not even his hand eye coordination was that good. Having said that, this was the Doctor. And this Doctor in his forth incarnation standing in front of her, was known for being able to surprise.

"Why not?" he pouted.

"I promised Liz that she could see your new face", Sarah smiled as she walked over to the remaining group.

"Yeah, so I know who to look out for if, you know, a hospital manages to make its way up here again", Liz shrugged on the screen.

"And", the Brig started to add, "I have something of yours that I think you would like back".

"Oh really", the Doctor smiled.

"Yes, Mike and I brought it round whilst you and Sarah were off getting changed", Benton smiled.

"Let's see it then", the Doctor looked around expectantly.

"Uh, sorry, it's outside", Mike told him.

"Ah, Doctor", Sarah Jane stopped the Doctor as he headed for the door.

"What now?" the Doctor continued to pout at her.

"Ten seconds", Sarah pointed at her watch.

"Right, you four", the Doctor said as he ran over to Sarah and pulled her back from their friends, "Look away or shield your eyes. This is very bright".

The three men looked about each other, and Benton shrugged. Liz on the moon however, span around in her chair to face the back wall of moon base. The soldiers watched as the Doctor placed Sarah at an arm's length, and they both just stood there, with Sarah Jane watch her watch. Suddenly, a bright light seemed to originate from under their skin, and then exploded into whispers of golden energy that flew all around them.

They watched as the Doctor's hair first of all shrank, and then erupted into another style similar to that of a rooster. He seemed to become skinnier, and his clothes became loose around him. Sarah on the other hand, didn't change much as far as they could see through the blinding light, bar the shortening of her hair, and the fact her clothes seemed to fit her better.

Suddenly, it seemed to stop, and the last few waves of golden energy leapt from their skin. The Doctor, or who was now standing where the Doctor was a few seconds ago, brushed down his arms resulting in more waves of energy swirling off at the tips of his fingers. He was a young man, tall and skinny and had, like all the Doctors, an air of eccentricity about him. His rooster hair was accompanied by sideburns, sending the soldiers back to the seventies again.

Sarah Jane however, looked normal. She looked exactly as she had done a few weeks ago when they had all met up for a semi regular coffee. She laughed as the Doctor came over and hugged her and spun her around. "Oh, put me down you fool", she laughed at the Doctor.

"I'm just so happy to see you my Sarah Jane", the Doctor replied as he spun/carried her over to the others.

"Nice to see you again Sarah", Liz smiled on screen, "So this is your new face Doctor. How is it that as you get older, the younger you seem?"

"Not fair is it?" Sarah laughed in agreement with Liz, "You should see his recent companions too. There's a trend there too".

"Now, I have to protest there Miss Smith", the Doctor crossed his arms, "You were just twenty three when you snuck on board. So Martha was about the same age as you, and Donna was actually older than you".

"Alright, alright", Sarah smiled.

"Jones", the Brigadier nodded, "Great doctor".

"Yeah, almost as good as Sullivan", Mike agreed.

"Wasn't she the one you sent to the moon", Benton frowned at the Doctor.

"I didn't send her there", the Doctor told them; "It was the Judoon. Now, where is this piece of equipment, I assume that it is as this is UNIT, that I have supposedly left here?"

After saying their goodbyes to Liz, shutting the hanger down for the evening and making sure they had everything, they headed outside. What they found made Sarah groan and roll her eyes in despair, and the Doctor jump up and down like an over active five year old who has eaten too many of the 'old' blue Smarties.

There, parked next to her car, was an old yellow roadster, with the registration of 'WHO 1'; or, better known as Bessie, the Doctor's car from his days in UNIT. This was just what Sarah Jane needed; not only was her yellow beetle never going to get fixed as the Doctor had promised, but any improvements he gave it would undoubtedly be inspired by what is under Bessie's hood. And she also doubted the TARDIS would be best pleased having to accommodate the car. Sarah Jane made a mental note for her and the TARDIS to start plotting for this weekend. "Bessie!" the Doctor called as he ran up to the car.

"Thank you UNIT", Sarah Jane said under her breath.

"Oh, thank you", the Doctor beamed as he shook each of the UNIT men's hands individually, "This is brilliant! I can go wherever I want now".

"Oh", Sarah turned to him, "Had enough of the TARDIS now, have we?"

"No, never", the Doctor replied, "It's just, I can't fly her without causing you and Cardiff's most wanted toddlers to have a mental breakdown. Bessie on the other hand, I can drive her to and from work, go shopping, take you places when you aren't old enough to drive".

"Fair enough", Sarah shrugged; the TARDIS still won't be impressed when he decided to take the car with him after this is all over.

"Gentlemen, could I possibly offer you lifts?" the Doctor asked.

"Ah no", the Brig responded whilst Benton and Yates over enthusiastically shook their heads, "We'd rather get home without internal injuries".

"My driving not that bad", the Doctor laughed.

"We went through two red lights, missed a turning, and I nearly threw up, all on the way here Doctor", Sarah Jane told him.

"Plus", Benton began to add, "Bessie does not have seat belts".

"When were you ever to be the one to worry about seat belts Benton?" the Doctor wondered.

"Since you made us drive across country after that guy with the blue crystal at break neck speeds", the Brig replied.

The conversation didn't go much further than that. They all said their goodbyes, and the Doctor promised to visit more often. Their semi-regular coffee mornings sounded fun. Sarah and the Doctor made their way back home, with the Doctor following behind Sarah to make sure he stuck to the speed limit.

Once back home, Luke and K9 were there to greet them. According to the dog, Rani had left an hour ago and Clyde not long after that. And Luke smelt like flowers and looked exhausted; the Doctor whispered 'they found the pool' into Sarah's ear as they all headed for bed. It had been a long day, and look at that she had PE first thing in the morning right after pastoral.

* * *

After pastoral, they gathered out on the damp field, about thirty or so girls all dressed in the horrific PE kit the school insisted they wore. Rani had commented that they looked like corn on the cob with their yellow shirts and green skorts. The lucky boys got jerseys and shorts. Sarah Jane caught a glimpse of them as they made their ways over to the football pitch. She already knew which team had lost; the one with Luke in their team.

Rani was complaining how cold it was this morning, but she was glad that they were doing PE now rather than last thing when the sun's heat was at its worst. Before coming out, they were all forced to tie their hair back; health and safety Rani had called it. Sarah didn't know what she was on about. What was this health and safety this generation of teachers were so worried about? They now had to wear goggles in science, there were fire hydrants and safety instructions everywhere and you had to sanitise your hands with alcohol gel before buying lunch from the canteen. There was never this much worry when she was in school. The only precaution Sarah could ever remember taking in school was checking whether the milk had gone off or not. Maybe that's why every science lesson the boys always managed to blow something up. Well, it wasn't much different today; she had seen what Clyde and Luke were like in Chemistry.

"Okay class", the teacher up front, Mrs Watson, started and all the girls quietened down, "Today we are doing relays. Get into teams of three and then decide who's going to start, who's going to be in the middle, and who is going to finish".

Before Sarah even had a chance to think, she found herself in a team with Rhi and Rani. "I'll start", Rhi volunteered, "You know how bad I'm at receiving the baton".

"Sarah, where do you want to go?" Rani asked, "Middle or end?"

"I don't mind, really Rani", Sarah replied, "You choose".

Before Rani could open her mouth, someone was standing next to her with a smile. "Hi Ni", the blonde Barbie doll wannabe patronisingly smiled at them, "Who's your friend?"

"SJ", Rani faked smiled back at her, "She's new".

"Well, I hope you've explained the rules to her", the girl smiled back.

"Just about to, thanks", and with that the girl walked off and Rani rolled her eyes.

"Who's she?" Sarah frowned, "And rules, what rules?"

"That was Shannon", Rhi explained, "Chief of the future WAG society".

"And she is very competitive when it comes to sport", Rani grumbled, "I beat her in a race one back in Year ten. Came back to the changing room and my shoes were on the ceiling".

"Well, that's not very nice", Sarah replied as she watched Shannon return to her gaggle of friends.

"But that's what they do for fun", Rhi sighed, "It would be best if you can run like the wind, to not today".

"Which she can do", Rani added quickly on the end, "Lot's of practise isn't it Sarah Jane?"

"Lots", Sarah laughed, "Look, I'll go at the end".

"Alright", Rani nodded, before walking off to her part of the field.

"Look", Rhi started before Sarah headed off too, "Don't let the plastics get under your skin. Rani hasn't, and we all know that she is really the fastest. One time, they went on a competition and Rani basically wiped the floor with their personal bests".

"Advice taken", Sarah nodded, and then walked off with a smile.

She passed Rani, but then stopped and turned back to face her. "Rani", she whispered, "I have a plan".

"Sarah Jane, please just leave it", Rani frowned, "Please".

"No, listen to me", Sarah smiled at her, "There's this alien species called the Autons; made from plastic and have guns in their hands. Pretend that those girls are them and we are running for our lives, like normal, from them and that the baton is the sonic and you are passing it to me".

"I hope you know what you've got us into", Rani replied.

"Trust me", Sarah laughed, "I know exactly what will happen".

They took their places and Mrs Watson blew her whistle. Rhi set off, at a good pace and at this point everyone was at about the same place. As they were approaching the first relay, it was obvious to Sarah Jane that the Barbie dolls were beginning to win and everyone was backing off. Rhi passed Rani the baton, and at the moment their little team was in about third, with two groups of the Barbie dolls ahead. But as soon as that baton hit Rani's hand, she was off like lightening. She passed the slower of the two girls ahead of her, and an eruption of screaming came from Shannon who was standing next to Sarah.

Rani, with a smile on her face, caught up with first place, and exactly at the same time, Sarah Jane and Shannon set off. Screams of encouragement from her peers didn't make it to Sarah's ears as she focused on the finish line. 'Don't look back', she heard the Doctor's voice in her ears, 'And don't ask any silly questions'. She was almost there, her heart pounding in her chest. Suddenly, her mind began to play tricks on her, as had a sense of déjà vu from Skaro, and it was almost like being back there.

She was running down the corridors in the Kaled dome with the Thals ahead of her. Harry was just in front, calling her on. Reality and this dream she now found herself in kept flashing in front of her eyes so she couldn't even remember what was real. _Everything that was, is, and will be_, was ringing around in her mind. This was the TARDIS's doing. Even as Sarah crossed the line she ducked and screamed as an imaginary ray of energy from the Dalek perusing her flew over her head.

The duck had caused her to fall over, and once she had finished rolling several times on the ground, she found herself sitting back up and facing the track which she had just ran down. And Shannon had only just crossed the line, and she had a face like a Dalek; full of hate.

Rani was bouncing up the rest of the track, with a huge smile on her face. Rhi was not far behind her, and the remaining girls joined them as they came to the end of the track. Mrs Watson had a huge smile on her face. Sarah couldn't tell whether it was pride that someone had faced up to the plastics or joy that she had found talent. "Miss Smith", the teacher smiled, "Have you ever thought about joining a running club?"

"No", Sarah replied as she started to catch her breath back.

"Well, I'd like you and Miss Chandra to be on next year's athletics team", Mrs Watson helped her stand, "Did you injure yourself when you fell?"

"I might have a bruise tonight", Sarah replied, "But I think I'll be fine".

"Okay then girls", Mrs Watson called, "Catch your breaths, and then we are doing that again. Some of us still aren't passing the baton correctly".

Rani hugged Sarah before she could do anything else, and then Rhi joined in. The both of them were ecstatic. "Where'd that come from?" Rhi asked them both, "You managed to outdo Shannon by a good five seconds. What's your secret?"

"Oh, I just told Rani that we were being chased by Clyde with a cake in his hand", Sarah laughed.

"That is scary", Rhi joined in with the laughter, "You even screamed at the end. Ever thought about doing drama?"

"I thought you knew the rules Ni", a voice spat down the back of Sarah's neck.

"They must have slipped my mind", Rani smiled.

"Well, I'll make sure you never forget them this time", Shannon sneered.

"Look", Sarah turned round to face the taller girl, "It wasn't Rani's idea; it was mine. If you want to take your jealousy out on someone because they are miles better than you, take it out on me".

"Alright", Shannon crossed her arms as support came in from behind for her, "What do you propose?"

"All or nothing", Sarah replied, "You verses me after school tomorrow".

"Okay, if I win, things go back to the way they were and you suffer the consequences of your actions this morning", Shannon told her.

"And if I win, you drop your petty obsession with winning and let your peers have fun doing sport without being in fear that if they win, something bad will happen", Sarah added.

"Done", and they shook on it, "And how about we make it a bit more interesting. We'll do it in heels".

"Fine with me", Sarah smiled; if they only knew how many aliens she had ran away from in heels.

* * *

Sarah sighed as she placed her head into her hands and ran her fingers through her hair. What on Earth was she thinking? Was she becoming competitive again? Well, she had always been competitive, that was how you got things done in the journalism business, but she could remember being very competitive when she was younger. That part of her personality had got her into more trouble than Aunt Lavinia liked, but as she got older, she learned to keep it under control, because although winning is an amazing feeling, you can't always get want you want, and Sarah knew her limits. And running, especially in high heels wasn't one of those things she did anymore.

She began to think back to when she had last ran, and really ran in heels. She had missed the bus a few times and had to run after it, but that wasn't any great distance like a whole lap around an athletics circuit. The last time she had ran that far (in heels) would have had to been back in Italy. Now, that took her back.

"Sarah Jane", Clyde started as he joined her for lunch on the grass, "Is what Rani's been telling us true? You've taken on the Big Barbie Chief in a life or death showdown?"

"It's only a race Clyde", Luke pointed out.

"In high heels", Maxx added.

"But Sarah Jane should win", Rani explained, "You should have seen her wipe the floor with them in trainers. And, she has had all that practise with the Doc... Dr Smith".

Sarah looked up to Rani who was sheepishly munching away on her sandwich. Thankfully, Maxx didn't seem to pick up on her slip as he just casually carried on stabbing his pasta with the fork in his hand. He looked almost like a manic with that fork, but his efforts were rewarded by one piece staying on. And then falling into his lap before it even reached his mouth.

"Hey", Clyde started as he rolled up his now empty plastic sandwich bag, "I know what will take your mind off of things".

And with that he produced a pack of cards and began to remove the outer packaging. Rani smiled as she finished up her sandwich, Maxx gave up on his pasta and put it to one side, and Luke rubbed his hands together. "Excellent", her son said evilly.

"Right", Clyde said as he started dealing, "We are not playing poker as Luke cheats and Sarah Jane is too good at it".

"It's the only time she can lie properly", Luke laughed.

"Right", Sarah laughed back at him as she sat up straight, "For that, I am going to win at whatever game you throw at me".

That successfully happened as five minutes later; Sarah Jane had won a game of Magic with Rani ending up with almost all the cards in the end. Luke came in a close second, with Maxx in third. Clyde seemed a little shocked to be in fourth only just beating Rani, but shuffled the cards in silence. "How are you so good?" Maxx wondered, "You didn't even have to pick up once!"

"Don't know", Sarah shrugged, "There's quite a bit of time between one place and another when you are travelling, so you have to come up with a way to entertain yourself".

"Can you do any tricks?" Luke asked, he had seen his mother do some amazing things, but never magic, probably because she didn't believe in it.

"Not really", Sarah smiled, "Ask Granddad though. He definitely can".

"Oh, I bet he can", Rani laughed, "He and his caravan of tricks".

"And the Physics lessons", Clyde added.

"I can do a few", Maxx shrugged, but ultimately regretted ever saying those five words.

Why? Because he then suddenly had four sets of eyes upon him, Clyde was shoving the cards in his face and Rani almost jumping up and down in the spot, pleading him to do one. Sarah Jane laughed whilst Luke seemed to ready himself to take notes, without actually taking notes. Maxx sighed as he took the cards from Clyde and shuffled them once for good measure. He turned to Rani as he spread the cards before her. "Pick a card, any card", he giggled, he could not believe he was doing this.

"Okay", Rani smiled as she took one, and looked at it.

"Memorise it", Maxx told her, which she nodded, "Now, place it back into the pack".

Rani did so, and Maxx began to shuffle and he then, for good measure asked Clyde to shuffle them. Taking them back, Maxx shuffled them again before removing the top one and turning it around to face all of them. Rani gasped as she recognised her card. "Your card is the four of clubs", Maxx smiled.

"Yes", she replied, "How'd you do that?"

Sarah laughed as Luke also repeated the question, unable to fathom it out. Clyde just sat there in awe as Maxx shrugged at them both. He then turned to Sarah who was still laughing. "What's so funny?" he asked her.

"I congratulate on confusing Luke with the sleight of hand", Sarah told him, "But I've seen better".

"Oh really", Maxx saw that as a challenge and began to shuffle again, "I'm slightly psychic, they can vouch for me on that".

"He predicted a lottery ticket once", Rani smiled.

"And he knew that Mrs Phillips the English teacher was pregnant, two weeks before she knew", Luke added.

"Coincidence and noticing slight changes in behaviour", Sarah laughed, unimpressed, "You're just lucky, that's all. I want proof".

"Okay Miss Smith, why don't you pick a card?" Maxx smiled at her as opened the cards out in front of her.

"Alright", Sarah replied as she took one and glanced down.

It was the queen of hearts. If only the Doctor was here, she thought. Nodding, Sarah then put the card back into the deck. Maxx then repeated what he did earlier, and not only asked Clyde to shuffle, but Rani and Luke as well. They played along, and Luke passed the cards back to Maxx. Maxx did one last big shuffle, before picking up the top card. It was her card. Damn. "The queen of spiders", he told her with a smile.

"Well don... spiders?" Sarah's smile turned to a frown.

"Sorry, I mean eight legs", Maxx shook his head.

Sarah knew something was up then. The entire colour drained from her face as the four others looked at her. Luke reached a hand out to his mother, which she flinched away from. "Sarah Jane?" Rani wondered.

"You look like a Dalek has exterminated you", Maxx laughed.

"Whoa man", Clyde knew then too something was wrong, "What d'you mean Daleks?"

Maxx suddenly turned as white as a sheet, staring off into the distance past Sarah Jane. "Ah, my head", Maxx then cried out as he grasped his head, clutching at the fabric of his hat, "Eldrad!"

Sarah leapt into action and was at Maxx's side within micro seconds. She laid him back onto the grass as he continued to cry out in pain. "Maxx?" she called to him, "Can you hear me Maxx?"

"Eldrad must live!" he cried to the heavens, "Eldrad MUST live!"

They all watched as Maxx's face screwed up in pain. He rolled about, all the while clasping his head, trying to rip his hat off. The other three started to help Sarah by pinning him down. "Luke, go get the Doctor", Sarah told her son, "Now".

"Yes mum", and with that he was off.

"Maxx", Sarah started again, "Maxx, you must listen to me. Help is on the way, I promise".

"Bloody TARDIS!" he screamed.

"How can he know that?" Rani wondered.

Sarah didn't know whether it was her own instincts or the TARDIS sub-consciously suggesting something, as what she did next, she didn't know she was able to do. She reached to Maxx's temples, and with her two fore fingers on each hand, pressed down. She closed her eyes, concentrating on his mind, and found herself inside. There were images flashing across his mind, images of her past and of her present.

She saw images of her time in the middle ages fighting Linx the Sontaran, Metebelis Three and the Queen of the Eight Legs. What made her shiver there though, was that the images showed her what was going on inside her head, not just what had happened. Then there were memories of the Doctor, some she didn't want people to really know about; private things like quiet times on the TARDIS or moments where she and the Doctor thought they were the only two people in the universe.

An Image of Eldrad made her shriek as it literally jumped out in front of the rest of the images. No wonder Maxx screamed his name. Finally, the TARDIS stood there in the middle of it all, and Sarah's words 'Bloody TARDIS' echoed around her.

The next thing she did was another surprise. From absolutely nowhere, she pulled a light switch that was dangling beside her, and then she was out of Maxx's mind and he was lying on the grass unconscious. What had just happened? "What did you do?" Clyde gasped.

"I think", Sarah gulped, "I think I hypnotised him".

* * *

Sarah looked over at the almost lifeless form of Maxx. His unconsciousness was restless as he muttered incomprehensible nonsense from the bed in the nurse's room. No matter what anyone told her, she knew this was all her fault. She had sent him into this state. The others had tried to point out that things were going downhill before she had even hypnotised him, but the whole ordeal just overwhelmed her.

When Luke came back with the Doctor, he not only had the nurse in tow too, but Haresh as well. The two men carried Maxx off to the nurse's room, and Sarah was instructed to keep an eye on him whilst his parents were called. The Doctor had disappeared off to get some sort of equipment, Haresh was phoning his parents, and the nurse was getting Maxx's medical record to see if there was anything in there.

This boy had talked about her experience on Metebelis Three, Eldrad and her most recent curse of the TARDIS. She had seen things from her past in his head, which she would dare not ever share with the kids, not until they were in university anyway. Was he a telepath? And what of this hypnosis? The Doctor had been constantly teaching her how to put up mental blocks and control what the TARDIS was able to do through her, but he hadn't thought of this had he. No, it didn't occur to him that Sarah's latent telepathy that caused so many of their problems in the past, combined with the power of the TARDIS would probably be able to make her hypnotise people.

"How is he?" the Doctor asked as he flew into the room.

Sarah let go of Maxx's hand, which she hadn't even realised she was holding. She composed herself with a sniff and sat up straight. "He keeps mumbling", she told him, "Although I cannot decipher what exactly".

"Well", the Doctor started as he set down an instrument he had brought in, "I've just bashed this together. It should be able to tell us why he got this sudden burst of psychic energy".

"It couldn't be to do with my latent telepathy combined with the TARDIS, and his 'psychic' abilities, could it?" Sarah wondered, "I didn't have my shields up as I doubted a teenager would be able to read minds".

"It could be", the Doctor nodded, "He saw quite a lot of your past. More than any normal telepath would be able to".

"Well, I'm not 'normal' right now am I", Sarah sighed, "The TARDIS keeps surprising me with new wonderful things".

"So I've heard", the Doctor looked up from what he was doing, "Rani told me what happened in the race".

"Damned TARDIS", Sarah cursed.

"Oy, leave her alone", the Doctor warned as he placed something on Maxx's head, "It's bad enough that you two are picking on me, I don't want her picking on you as well".

"I know", Sarah sighed, "How are we going to wake him up?"

"You put him under", the Doctor told her; "You bring him out".

"But I don't even know how I did it in the first place!"

"Now that probably was your telepathy combined with the TARDIS", the Doctor smiled at her, "She probably sensed he was about to do serious damage to himself, so guided you. All you have to do is concentrate, and you should be able to bring him back around again".

* * *

**AN:** So, I thought I'd get this up. I've spent most of half term trying to complete it. Going back to college tomorrow; such fun. Hope you enjoyed this one.


	17. Kraal Invasion of the Brain

**Kraal Invasion of the Brain**

Maxx blinked his eyes open into the bright white light that was awaiting him when he came back into consciousness. His head was banging and he could hear muffled voices around him. As his vision cleared, a face he definitely recognised was waiting for him with a large smile. Sarah Jane seemed she could not be happier to see Maxx awake. "Heya", she smiled at him, "Feel any better?"

"My head feels as though it went through the blender", he replied, his voice dry, "Remind me what happened?"

"You young man", a deep voice said from off to the side, "Experienced an extreme quantity of psychic energy that knocked you clean out".

"Oh", Maxx smiled as Sarah Jane helped him to sit up, "That bad is it?"

"Were you aware that you possess a greater amount of psychic ability compared to the average Homosapien?" Dr Smith continued with all seriousness as he came into Maxx's line of vision. He watched as the older man with his shock of silver hair, removed a small patch Maxx hadn't realised was stuck to his arm.

"I was aware I possessed some", Maxx shrugged, "Always been good for lottery numbers me".

"Well, you posses an ability far greater than being good for lottery numbers, young man", Dr Smith informed him as he patted him on the back, "And with practice, I think you may be onto something. All humans have a latent telepathic ability, and if it weren't for Sarah's slightly enhanced abilities, you may never have come out from the state you were in".

"Well, thank you Sarah Jane", Maxx smiled at her.

"Yeah... well", Sarah Jane replied quietly. Maxx turned to see Sarah avoiding his gaze and Dr Smith's locked on her, saying much more than Maxx could understand.

"Mr Lopez", Dr Smith turned to him, "Do you mind me asking why you are allowed to wear that hat of yours? I am aware that Mr Chandra has very strict rules concerning the school uniform".

"I have alopecia universalis, sir", Maxx replied quietly, "No hair, means I get very cold, very easily".

"Was it through chemotherapy?" Dr Smith asked.

"Why are you asking me this, sir?"

"Sorry", Dr Smith smiled apologetically, "I'm just trying to see whether there was a medical explanation for your increased telepathy. Sometimes chemical and radiation exposure can increase such abilities".

"Like superheroes and vats of toxic waste?" Maxx laughed.

"Similar to that, yes", Dr Smith nodded.

"Sorry sir, I hate to disappoint, but my condition is purely biological", Maxx told him, "I've had no hair from the age of two, and no reason why".

Dr Smith nodded in understanding and looked over to Sarah Jane who was being very quiet. She'd kept looking upwards during their conversation, but only for the briefest of moments before looking back down to her feet. "Sarah Jane, are you okay?" Maxx asked.

"Yes, I'm fine", she replied. Her tone caused Maxx to share a mutual glance with Dr Smith.

"Okay then", Maxx shrugged before looking down at his own feet swinging casually in the air. He thought for a moment about something he'd been meaning to ask Sarah Jane for a while now. But he wasn't sure it was the best thing to be saying in front of her grandfather. "Do you want to come out with me on the weekend?" Maxx asked her.

"What?" Sarah looked at him, her mouth almost ready to drop to the floor.

"Do you... you know... want to go out on the weekend?" Maxx looked to his feet, "Like to the cinema or something?"

Sarah opened her mouth to speak, but before any sound left her lips she was interrupted. "No way", Dr Smith made them both face him. His brows were furrowed, and when he noticed Sarah giving him an un-amused 'Why not?' face, quickly raised them again. "Your cousins are coming over, remember?" he said, but it sounded like a cover up to Maxx, "You haven't seen them in years".

"Oh yeah", Sarah remembered and her tone of voice matched her grandfather's, "Cardiff's most destructive seven year olds. Sorry Maxx, maybe some other time?"

* * *

"I feel guilty", Sarah announced as they walked out through the gates of Park Vale.

"Why?" Rani wondered.

"Because if it weren't for me, Maxx wouldn't have ended up in the Nurse's room today", Sarah Jane replied quietly.

"If it weren't for you, he may have had to gone to hospital", Luke told her.

"You did very well Sarah, given the circumstances", the Doctor wrapped an arm around her.

"Yeah, well, let's just hope he doesn't start talking Daleks or even Slitheen", Clyde added, "We may have to pull him aside and give him a little chat".

"I am not having more people involved in our activities", Sarah Jane warned, "It is dangerous enough that you three are involved already".

She looked down at her feet and walked along as if she had no purpose. The Doctor looked about the three kids, who he guessed, were used to Sarah Jane telling them off about how dangerous their lives were, and he noticed they had become uncharacteristically quiet. "Uh, why don't you three go on ahead", he told them, "Go and put the kettle on for us. It has been a long day".

The three of them nodded and carried on as the Doctor stopped Sarah Jane. He put a finger under her chin and lifted her head so she was looking into his eyes. She pulled away from his gaze and shuffled along with her hands in her pockets.

"Sarah", the Doctor mumbled as he kicked at a stone on the pavement. He kept his gaze locked on the ground as they walked. Luke, Rani and Clyde were up ahead, laughing and joking about something as they turned into the top end of Bannerman Road. "Sarah Jane", the Doctor took a breath, "Do you like Maxx?"

"Um..." Sarah Jane smiled, "Yes, I think I do. He's a great friend".

"No, I mean do you... you know", the Doctor put his hands into his pocket as they continued down the road, "Like like him?"

"What do you mean?" Sarah Jane frowned at him in confusion.

"Do you find him attractive?" the Doctor mumbled.

Sarah Jane laughed and placed a hand on the Doctor's arm. "You're jealous aren't you?" she giggled as the Doctor shied away from her touch. Sarah Jane shook her head in disbelief. "Don't worry, Doctor", she smiled at him, "I have no plans on falling for young men, seeing that I am not only old enough to be their mother, but also their grandmother too".

"That still doesn't answer the question", the Doctor muttered under his breath as they turned into 13 Bannerman Road for the evening.

* * *

Friday made its presence known with a bang; literally. Sarah Jane shot out from her bed by the sound from something exploding downstairs. She grabbed her fluffy white dressing gown and hurtled out into the hall. Luke's door opposite opened at the same time as hers, and the two Smiths ran down the stairs together.

They burst into the kitchen to find it full of grey smoke being emitted from the general area of the kitchen table. The Doctor stumbled out from it; his face covered in black soot and his hair all askew and smoking itself. He coughed and spluttered as he tried to fan the smoke from his face. Not noticing Luke and Sarah Jane were in front of him, he dusted down his black suit, wiping the soot from the red sleeves of his burgundy shirt underneath.

"Do you mind not blowing my kitchen up on a Friday morning?" Sarah Jane asked angrily.

"Oh my", the Doctor said surprised, "Sorry Sarah. It wasn't supposed to blow up... honest". He smiled at her innocently as he rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. "I'll uh... pay for any damages".

"You'd better", Sarah replied sternly. She dropped her hands from her hips with a sigh and made for the kitchen window. "Oh well", she shrugged as she pushed the window up, "C'mon Luke, seeing as we are up, we may as well start on breakfast".

* * *

"So what was it that you blew up this morning?" Sarah asked as they walked to school.

The walk had been silent up until that point. Luke, Rani and Clyde were a few steps ahead of the Doctor and Sarah and had been joking about most of the way about some television show or another, but there had been no conversation between the two time travellers. The Doctor looked down at Sarah Jane, having to crane his head slightly as his third incarnation's nose was blocking his vision somewhat.

She was carrying an extra bag with her today. He thought she'd had PE yesterday, not today. Perhaps she was going to attend a lunchtime club or something. But none of the others had the extra bag. Maybe there was something she wasn't telling him... she had been awfully quiet with him since yesterday afternoon. He knew she still felt guilty about what happened with Maxx, and he felt awkward bringing up any conversation relating to the events of yesterday afternoon. Maybe he was jealous?

"Ah... uh... just a little device of mine I was cooking up", the Doctor sniffed, "Wasn't meant to blow up, honestly".

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes with a laugh after hearing that excuse one too many times. "I bet it wasn't, Doctor", she shook her head, "What was its function going to be?"

"Well", the Doctor started eagerly, "It was going to be a scanner. I am determined to find out what is causing Mr Lopez's increased telepathy. That attack yesterday can't have been his proximity to you and the TARDIS's influence upon you. It would have happened the day you met him if that were the case. No, there has to be another explanation".

"I doubt Maxx would have taken to kindly to you scanning him", Sarah Jane pointed out.

"Yeah well, I was just going to have it sitting in my room scanning for alien tech..."

"Oh Doctor!" Sarah Jane stopped him, "Not everything around you has to be to do with aliens".

"Well..."

"Maxx is not an alien", Sarah Jane told him, "If he were, my watch would have been beeping at me every time he was near me".

"But what if he is wearing a bio-damper?" the Doctor argued, "Sarah Jane, nine times out of ten, for me any way, there is an extra terrestrial explanation. I'm only trying to eliminate alien from the list of possibilities. Once that is removed, it incredibly narrows down the field for me, and I may be able to isolate what caused Maxx's psychic attack. I only want to help".

Sarah Jane sighed as she put her hands in her leather jacket. The Doctor was right. It would seriously narrow down the field of options for the Doctor to pursue if aliens were removed from the equation. "Besides", the Doctor added as they turned in through the school gates, "It only blew up because of all the alien tech in your house".

"So it's my fault now is it that may kitchen table has black scorch marks all over it?" Sarah Jane laughed.

"Well your cooking may have something to do with that", the Doctor joked, "But no, I have only myself to blame for all this. I was the fool to make an alien tech scanner in your house. Of course it would explode!"

The kids stopped and turned around to see what the Doctor and Sarah Jane were laughing at as they reached the middle of the school yard. "So what's so funny?" Clyde asked.

"I bet it is something to do with the Doctor blowing something up a seven o'clock this morning", Luke smiled.

"I thought I heard something", Rani smiled.

"Sorry", the Doctor smiled, "So, meet you all here at the usual time?"

"Didn't Luke and Sarah Jane tell you?" Clyde frowned in confusion, "The race?"

"What race?" the Doctor stood straight and crossed his arms as he looked down on Luke and Sarah Jane.

"You didn't tell him?" Sarah Jane hissed at Luke.

"I didn't think it was my place to", he shrugged at her, "Besides, it is you who is running, not me".

"Well Sarah Jane?" the Doctor raised an expectant eyebrow at her.

"C'mon Doctor", Sarah Jane huffed as she grabbed him by the arm, "I'll tell you on the way to signing in".

"See you in the form room then Sarah Jane", Clyde shouted as they watched the Doctor be dragged towards Haresh's office.

* * *

The end of the day came too quickly for Sarah Jane's liking. At three fifteen that afternoon she found herself sat alone on one of the many picnic tables on the school grounds, psyching her-self up for this run. She had changed into some denim shorts and red vest top the TARDIS had placed in her wardrobe for her this morning, with heels the height she and Shannon had agreed upon yesterday sitting next to her on the table. They were a pair of strappy open toed four inch heels; a sort she hadn't worn in years. The last time she'd worn heels like this was to a UNIT Christmas party many years ago.

Sarah Jane sat looking down at her toes. She wiggled them every so often to keep herself focused, but nothing was working. Her mind kept drifting to everything else but this race. _I'll be there to assist you_, the TARDIS echoed around in her head. Sarah Jane laughed. "Yeah, images of Daleks are just what I need", she joked aloud quietly to herself.

"Hey", a voice behind her made her jump.

Sarah Jane turned around to see Maxx. Sarah Jane hadn't seen him all day, and he wasn't dressed in school uniform, so she assumed that he hadn't come into school. She wasn't surprised considering what had happened yesterday. "Hiya", Sarah Jane smiled at him as he sat down next to her, "How are you feeling today?"

"A bit weak", Maxx shrugged, "My parents made me stay home. They took me to the hospital last night to see if I was all okay. They are very cautious with my hairlessness and all".

"I bet they are", Sarah Jane smiled, "How'd you convince them to let you out now?"

"I had to promise to be home in an hour and text them if anything happened", he told her, "I offered to put on a tag too, but that was going a bit far".

Sarah Jane laughed at Maxx as he sat back casually into the bench. He pulled his beanie down over his eyes as he bathed himself in the sunlight. Sarah Jane shook her head as she leant back to join him. "I'm glad you're okay", Sarah told him.

"Thanks", Maxx grinned as he lifted his beanie off of one of his eyes. His eye then looked behind Sarah Jane at the heels. "They look lethal", he winced, "Are you sure you can run in them?"

"No problem", Sarah Jane told him as she grabbed them and placed them in her lap, "I've run further than the length of the track in heels higher than this before".

"Well, I hope you win", Maxx said as he sat forward again and looked over his shoulder. He stood slowly before looking at Sarah Jane and gesturing behind her. "I think it's time", he told her, "You're granddad is here".

Sarah Jane looked over her shoulder and stood as she saw the Doctor approach. He was carrying his grey coat over his arm and had one hand rummaging around in his leather satchel for something. His face was screwed up in concentration as his hand seemed to move deeper and deeper into his bag. "Bigger on the inside, is it sir?" Maxx joked as the Doctor got closer.

"Yes it is", the Doctor laughed as Sarah Jane smiled, "How are you feeling today young man?"

"Better", Maxx shrugged, "Head's still a bit scrambled, but I bet I'll be fine by Monday".

"Good good", the Doctor nodded, "Aha!" He pulled his arm from inside his bag, and held it out to Sarah Jane. In his hand was a mint humbug. "There you are my dear", he told her as Sarah took it from him, "Eat that quickly. It'll boost your sugar levels".

Sarah Jane popped it in her mouth as she picked up her shoes. "No jelly babies?" she joked.

"I ate them all", the Doctor pouted, "We'll need to buy more tonight before Jack comes tomorrow".

"You've eaten them all!" Sarah Jane couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You shouldn't be surprised Sarah", the Doctor patted her on the head; "This is me we are talking about".

Sarah Jane shook her head in despair before turning to Maxx who was giggling himself at the absurdity of the conversation he was hearing. It was obvious to him they were talking about quite a large quantity of sweets. "I better head on over to the track then", he announced, "See you guys at the finish line then".

Maxx started to walk away, but stopped and turned on his heels. He walked quickly back over to Sarah Jane and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Well that caught her by surprise. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she could feel herself beginning to go all red. The Doctor coughed uncomfortably as Sarah Jane and Maxx held a glance. "Yes... um... good luck", Maxx told her quickly before darting off and disappearing behind the gyms.

"I hope you didn't do anything to him whilst under hypnosis, Sarah", the Doctor grumbled as he took her heels from her.

"I did nothing of the sort", Sarah Jane told him as she chased after him.

"Good, because I thought you told me last night that you didn't want to get involved", he reminded her.

"I don't want to get involved", she informed him, "Not with anyone. Especially not for a while after what happened with Peter".

The Doctor pulled her towards him and wrapped and arm around her as he heard her take a sharp breath. She laughed at his reassuring gesture through the tears threatening to fall down her cheek. He leant down and kissed the top of her head as they approached the crowd gathering around the dirt running track. "Oh, my Sarah Jane", he sighed, "Don't think about it. Just concentrate on this race".

There were loads more people at the dirt racing track than Sarah Jane thought there would be. News travels fast in school, faster than she thought. At least everyone would know who she was after today. But she wasn't sure whether it would be a good thing or a bad thing? _Oh well_, she shrugged, _it will all depend on whether I win or not I suppose_. "There are a lot of people here", Sarah Jane noted as she and the Doctor got closer.

"Hmm", the Doctor agreed, "Teachers too. Probably just curious to see what is going on? Don't see Haresh though".

"That's probably a good thing", Sarah Jane laughed, "Be prepared for a lecture from him if he finds out what's going on".

The crowd parted as Sarah Jane and the Doctor made their ways to the start line. The students fell silent and started whispering among themselves as Sarah stood at the start line. It was only fifty metres long, so it wasn't as if she was going to be running a cross country race, although she could do so if she wished. Sometimes it felt like a cross country run with the Doctor; she'd run through swamps, forests, down streets and across fields.

"Do you want me to run in front of you for old time's sake?" the Doctor grinned as he gave her a light nudge.

"No thanks", Sarah laughed with him, "I think the TARDIS will do a good enough job all by herself".

"I'll see you at the end then with the others", he hugged her and kissed the top of her head again in a grandfatherly way. He was keeping the act up pretty well Sarah Jane thought as she watched him stroll off down the length of the track.

Sarah sighed as she sat herself down on the floor to attach the heels to her feet. She strapped them on as tightly as possible and someone kindly passed her some tape just to make sure they didn't fall off. As she stood, the crowd behind her parted and Shannon and her followers made themselves known. Sarah Jane rolled her eyes as Shannon approached dressed in the school's running team colours with her name and the number '1' printed in large lettering across the front and back of her top.

"Ready to lose, Smith?" she spat her name in the same way almost every alien menace Sarah Jane had ever encountered had.

"As if", Sarah laughed, "I'm here to win, remember".

Shannon gave her a death glare as a boy stepped out into the middle of the track. It would seem he'd volunteered for the unenviable task of setting them off. Sarah Jane crouched down to the floor to begin her run, and she saw Shannon do the same. Sarah Jane looked straight onwards at the finish line and images began to flash across her line of sight. The TARDIS was getting ready to play her part. Muffled sounds reached Sarah's ears, mixed up with the growing roar of the crowd.

"On your marks", the boy in front of them shouted, "Get set". Sarah Jane readied herself to push off as the boy held the silence that had fallen across the field. She took a deep breath and locked her vision on the finish line. "GO!" the boy screamed.

The crowd erupted in a roar of cries of encouragement for both Sarah Jane and Shannon as they both pushed off at unimaginable speeds for someone to be running in heels. _Keep running_, an image of the Doctor in his fourth incarnation running appeared in front of her, _and don't look back, Sarah. C'mon girl, run!_ Sarah felt her pace pick up as she pounded the floor. The sounds of the crowd vanished as the TARDIS changed the scene around her.

She was in Devesham again, running for cover from the Kraal bomb. The whine of the countdown deafened her as she ran after the Doctor, his scarf flapping after him in all directions. They had to make it to the Kraal ship; otherwise they would be disintegrated into atoms. Also, the Kraals were their only way back to Earth, seeing as the TARDIS had done a disappearing act.

The Doctor disappeared behind an ivy covered wall into someone's garden, and Sarah Jane headed for the same place, still running at ninety miles an hour. He stuck his arms out as she ran to him, and he swung her around in a huge circle as he took her off her feet. "Sarah Jane", he said to her as she pressed herself tight into his chest to shield herself from the blast, "Sarah, come out of it. The race is over".

It was then as if someone had flicked a switch, and Sarah Jane returned to Earth and reality. She was at the end of the race track, hugging the Doctor. People were jumping and screaming all around her, and as Sarah Jane looked over her shoulder, she could see that Shannon was still struggled half way down the track. She'd won. Sarah Jane had won.

Then her lungs caught up with her, and Sarah began to take large breaths of air, drowning herself in oxygen. She sat down to the floor, exhausted. How she'd managed to run that far so quickly was beyond her. _Thank you TARDIS_, Sarah said aloud in her mind with a smile.

"Sarah Jane!" she heard Rani's voice over the crowd.

Sarah stood with the Doctor's help as she saw Luke, Rani, Clyde and Maxx push their way through the crowd. Soon she was engulfed in a large mass hug from them all. "I guess I won then?" she joked with them as they dissolved into hysterics.

* * *

**AN: ** I'm back baby! So uh... it was last year I updated... well, that's college over and done with and I want to give this most of my free time attention over the summer now. And I have just seen how long this thing is getting... hope you're all still with me. Lol.


	18. K9 Likes Curry

**K9 Likes Curry**

Maxx Lopez skipped back to his house on Park Avenue. Sarah Jane had just won the race with Shannon, and he'd kissed her too! In all his wildest dreams he didn't think that before his GCSE exams that he would have kissed a girl, or even be falling for one. But it was highly inappropriate. He had to keep focused on the task ahead. Passing these exams was important.

He dug out his front door key from in his pocket, and turned it in the lock. He stepped in the empty house and sighed at the emptiness. It was what he wanted in the first place; peace and quiet, to get away from it all. But he didn't half miss having his home comforts around him. Ealing was doing its best to keep him entertained (school, and now Sarah Jane, were contributing to a large part of that), but it was not brilliant. And the British people were a bit odd too... maybe he would have fitted in better with the Americans? Maybe so, but his mission was in Britain.

An unearthly bark came from the top of the stairs, causing Maxx to smile as a green furred giant dog rabbit bounded down the stairs. Its large ears flopped all over the place as its long tail wagged uncontrollably. "Hey Floppy", Maxx scratched the creature between the ears as it stood on its hind legs and stretched its front legs up so they were resting on Maxx's shoulder.

As it jumped back down and toddled on off to the kitchen, Maxx pulled his red beanie from his head. Instantly the spell was broken and he grew two feet taller. His large elfin ears sprung out and his short spiky white hair erupted from his head revealing his true elder age. You would have thought at the age of one hundred and fifty Earth years equivalent in age he would want to be settling down, not researching some backward planet and their very apparent interest in the Foogie population.

Maxx stood tall and took a deep breath through his nose, enjoying the sensation of being himself again; a Feegie, from the same planet of the bird like space Foogies. The image translator was an ingenious invention and made his research on this planet so much easier, but there was no better feeling than being him-self once again. The part of a teenage boy was hard to act, but he was coping.

School was going the way he imagined. He was doing well in class, he had great friends, he had a crush and had kissed Sarah Jane, but... then he had to go a have a psychic attack right in front of her! All the times to have a psychic attack, and he had no idea what had brought it on! It happened to his species only when they came in close contact with another telepathic species or there was a great amount of psychic energy about. Humans were not known for their telepathic abilities, but there were one or two who could access the ability with time and practice. Doctor Smith seemed to know this fact too, and knew a lot about it. But Sarah Jane being a telepath... she couldn't be, could she?

Once Dr Smith had said she had some ability, he tried to reach out to her mind, but he got nothing. And then he tried to remember what had happened to cause the attack. He remembered the card trick with the others, and then as he read Sarah Jane's card, he was hit by a massive wave of psychic energy. And what's more, he couldn't remember anything of the attack or any of the information his mind would have received. It was if his mind had been wiped clean. But humans were incapable of doing such a thing! There had to be another alien present close by.

And then there was the matter of Sarah Jane. He knew when he'd first seen her that she was going to be an interesting person, but he'd never expected to be falling for her. How could he ever explain this to her? This is why he wished he was in America! Humans over there were much more accepting to the idea of aliens than in Britain, no matter how many times they were being invaded. And in Ealing, it seemed to be on a weekly basis too. Not to mention how nearly every Christmas he'd been here, there had been an alien occurrence of some kind.

And then there was the age between him and Sarah Jane. If interspecies relationships were not hard enough, the age difference certainly was. She was sixteen for goodness sake! He was going to be one hundred and fifty four next month and he should be retiring.

Maxx followed Floppy into the kitchen and sat down at the table where he opened up his touch hologram. He watched as the display changed from the screen saver into a graphic on the Foogie migration, and Maxx frowned. There was no migration. All the Foogies had gone. Vanished! No wonder he'd had a psychic attack. "I think my research project is going to be put on hold, Floppy", Maxx announced as he started to move different graphics about on the hologram. He sat up straight as he was put through to Feeg, his home-planet. "This is Sol Three Foogie Migration Researcher Maxx Unis Threm", he started, "I have the duty to report the Foogie migration has failed, I repeat failed. Please send back up immediately. The Foogie migration has disappeared. Alien intervention suspected".

* * *

Sarah Jane brushed off the last tendrils of golden Artron energy as she jumped up from her seat in the kitchen. Just in time too as bang on nine on the Friday evening was Gita at her front door with a list of instructions to Sarah Jane on how to make sure the house was all okay. Rani stood behind Gita as she rambled off the list Sarah had heard all before, finally giving her mother a kiss on the cheek when she'd finished. Gita darted off to the car where Haresh was waiting, and both Rani and Sarah Jane waved them off as they drove away from Bannerman Road. And a good thing too as it was about to get hectic.

"Clyde and Luke are in the front room", Sarah Jane told Rani as she shut the front door behind them, "And the Doctor has taken Bessie to pick up the curry".

"I'm looking forward to actually meeting everyone from Torchwood", Rani told Sarah Jane as she put her bag of stuff down by the stairs, "We've spoken so many times on the web cam, it's like we know them already".

"Well, they should be here in half an hour", Sarah said looking at her watch as she pushed the living room door open, "All okay in here boys?"

"Yes thanks mum", Luke replied without looking away from the television screen. Clyde had brought his Xbox over and they were playing some war game on there that Sarah Jane did not approve of, but how was she to stop them.

"Try and convince them to go on that Lego game will you, please Rani?" Sarah Jane pleaded as Rani made her way into the lounge.

"I'll do my best Sarah Jane", Rani smiled.

Satisfied that Rani was going to be able to overpower the boys, Sarah Jane returned to the TARDIS kitchen. She sat down with her cup of tea in her house's half of the kitchen and continued to read the newspaper. It was the best place to find unrecorded alien activity. Mr Smith was good at what he did, but he wasn't perfect. Aliens constantly slipped through the net, and the newspapers were the best place to find them.

But she couldn't focus. She hadn't been able to focus on anything since getting in. She and Luke did a little bit of Maths homework when they got in whilst the Doctor tried to rebuild his alien tech scanner... unsuccessfully. But she found herself doodling instead of learning circle theorems. It took all of Luke's encouragement to get her to do even one question.

Then for the rest of the rest of the evening until about an hour ago, she'd found herself in the attic procrastinating by sorting through items of alien tech she'd never sorted, and then she even tried fixing up some circuitry in the TARDIS console. The Doctor came in and found her waist deep in the TARDIS console, covered in oil and other fluids from the TARDIS engines.

Jack had called saying they weren't far away and the Doctor decided it was time he went and got the curries they'd all agreed on. She knew she had to get cleaned up then, not only to receive Rani for the evening as her normal self, but also to try and snap herself out of the funk she'd gotten herself in after the race.

She was elated about winning the race, of course, but what was getting her was that Maxx had kissed her. Admittedly it was only a peck on the cheek, but still it brought up emotions that she'd thought she wouldn't feel again for a long time after Peter. She'd told herself she didn't want to commit herself again, for a very a long while. But like with Peter, Maxx seemed too good to be true.

But what was getting her now, was now she was back to normal for the evening her emotions towards him had completely changed. She couldn't have feelings for a teenage boy! In fact, she was disgusted about the idea, and felt more attracted to the Doctor than anyone else! But then when she was a teenager not five minutes ago, she was convinced she was in love with Maxx, and nobody else in the world mattered. Even though she was aware of her feelings for Peter and the Doctor, Maxx was all she was concerned about. _C'mon Smith_, she told herself, _pull yourself together_.

"Hello!" the Doctor called in as he pushed his way in through the front door. Sarah Jane laughed to herself as he broke her train of thought. It was so strange to see him this domestic! She supposed he was getting used to it now; adapt or die was probably his thinking. "Got a discount on this", he smiled as the three kids appeared from nowhere and disappeared outside to get the rest of the food, "Spoke to the vendor in Indian, and he gave me a tenner off for 'effort' he called it".

"Excellent", Sarah Jane smiled. A smile broke across her features as the latest incarnation of the Doctor stepped through the door. He set his plastic bag down on the nearest counter before wrapping his arms around Sarah Jane in a hug and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "What was that for?" Sarah Jane laughed as he broke away and started unpacking.

"I'm happy to see you. This you", the Doctor gestured to her as he set four foil trays of curry down on the kitchen counter. Sarah Jane smiled. "I hope you don't mind", he started, "I used the tenner to restock on Jelly Babies".

Sarah Jane sighed in amused exasperation and shook her head at him. "Oh Doctor", she laughed, "Did you remember the Phaal for K9?"

"Of course", the Doctor smiled as he passed her the correct tray full of just the sauce, "It's another reason I got a tenner off. The chef actually prayed for the soul who was about to eat it. I can't believe that K9, even though he is a robot, can get a kick out of it".

"It's so hot", Sarah Jane told him as she served up into a bowl ready for the dog straight away, "that his circuits actually pick it up". She placed the bowl down on the floor under the table. "K9!" she called out into the hallway.

"How did you even discover that he liked it?" the Doctor leant back against the TARDIS kitchen counter top with a bemused expression upon his face.

"Harry", Sarah told him. He smiled satisfied with the one word answer.

"Well of course", the Doctor laughed, "That explains everything".

"Blimey!" Clyde announced as they walked into the kitchen, "I can smell K9's curry from outside".

"Just don't touch it, whatever you do", Luke warned his friend as they placed the remaining bags of curry down on the work surface.

"What will it do?" Clyde laughed, "Bite my hand off?"

"No, but K9 might", Sarah Jane joked as said dog rolled into the kitchen and headed straight under the table.

"My thanks, Mistress", K9 told her before he lowered his head down towards the curry and let the vapours consume him.

Everyone shared a laugh, before the Doctor then began to start giving orders to the kids to set up the table. Luke was given the task of finding the various alien drinks the Doctor thought would go well with the meal from the TARDIS half of the kitchen. Rani was in charge of setting the table as she was the only one Sarah Jane could trust not to drop her plates. And Clyde was set about identifying whose curry was whose and then attaching appropriate labels to the lids ready for when Torchwood arrived.

Once the orders were delivered, the Doctor dashed upstairs to get changed out from his school clothes and into something more 'suitable' he called it. Sarah Jane cleared away her newspaper and deposited it in the living room. She smiled when she saw that Rani had not only convinced Luke and Clyde to stop their game, but to switch consoles entirely. Instead of Clyde's Xbox, they now had Luke's Wii he had for his 'Luke Day' last year.

She stopped to check herself in the mirror. Not twenty minutes ago, she'd looked in this exact mirror and she'd been fifty years younger. She sighed. She only had about three weeks left of looking like a teenager, and then a month afterwards where she could forcibly change her appearance, but then she didn't know how reliable that would be. _This is why I shouldn't be falling in love with hormone driven teenage boys_, she told herself, _just how would I explain it to him?_

* * *

**AN: **So you may have noticed this chapter is much shorter than the rest, mainly because I wanted to get this out of the way before Torchwood turn up. Also, those of you who didn't have signed reviews and weren't able to have my reply will be unaware that this chapter had major edits. I didn't like how I'd first written it, so I basically did a complete rewrite, however the plot points are the same, so none of you have missed out on anything.

Maxx's plot point was always going to happen, but I've brought it in earlier because it is going to give me more angles to look at the story through in coming chapters. Also I was having doubts about having Sarah Jane falling in love with a teenager, so I thought I'd bring this point in earlier to even feelings out on both sides. Now both Sarah Jane and Maxx are in the same boat, so I think the relationship will develop better now that you all know that they are both keeping secrets from each other. Also, I feel that the resolution to this story will flow much better.

Sorry for the lengthy explanation. Next chapter should be up within a week. If all goes well. Lol.


	19. Liquid Sugar

**Liquid Sugar**

There was a light knock on the living room door, and Sarah turned to face the intruder. It was the Doctor, standing in the doorway dressed in this regeneration's typical brown pinstripe suit, smiling reassuringly. He walked in, hands in pockets and straight over to Sarah Jane. He reached out with one arm and pulled her in for a hug. "Not for much longer Sarah", he told her, "I promise, this will all be over soon".

"Thank god", Sarah Jane laughed, "I'm starting to get fed up of you hugging me".

"Really?" the Doctor's voice raised an octave in shock.

"No you twit", Sarah lightly punched him in the arm, "This whole mixed emotions thing is getting on my nerves though".

"Meh, it is to be expected", he shrugged.

Suddenly there was a large commotion outside and the doorbell rang three times. The Doctor raised both of his eyebrows and a large smile crossed his face. "That would be Torchwood", he stated the obvious, "C'mon then".

"They don't do 'discrete' very well, do they?" Sarah Jane laughed.

"They wouldn't be Torchwood if they did", the Doctor smiled as he let Sarah Jane pass to open the door.

Sarah gave him one last quick smile as she turned the key in the door. Oh the other side she was greeted by cheers of ecstatic joy and five people all with bottles of wine and or liqueurs in their hands. They were obviously planning one helluva weekend, but it was to be expected when Jack Harkness was concerned.

Jack was in first, giving Sarah Jane a hug and a kiss on the cheek before moving onto the Doctor and planting a kiss straight on his lips. Sarah laughed as the Doctor pushed him off and took one of the bottles from Jack's hands so they could share a manly handshake. He introduced Gwen and Ianto as they followed Jack in, and luckily Rani and Clyde turned up to start taking the alcohol through to the kitchen.

Martha was next, and the two women shared a hug before the Doctor picked Martha up and spun her around in a circle. It was good to see Martha back to her normal self. As too was it to see Mickey not only back to his normal appearance, but to see him again. He and Sarah shared a long hug, and Mickey stood with his arm draped over Sarah's shoulder as they watched the Doctor continue to dance around with Martha in their hug. "Alright boss?" Mickey asked as he placed Martha back down to Earth.

"Oh, no hug for me then Mickey?" the Doctor wondered.

"Nah", Mickey laughed as he pulled Sarah in closer momentarily, "We Smiths have to stick together, remember?"

The two of them laughed as Mickey kissed Sarah on the cheek before leaving her and giving the Doctor another manly handshake, before it quickly turned into a manly hug. With a laugh, Sarah Jane led the crowd into the TARDIS kitchen, where Jack let out an impressed whistle. Gwen and Ianto placed their bottles of Vodka and Wine down on the counter in Sarah's half of the kitchen as they looked around the kitchen. "Is it always like this?" Gwen laughed.

"Only when the Doctor is about", Jack joked, "Caw, whose curry is that I can smell?"

"K9's", Luke replied as he popped out from the TARDIS fridge arms full of alien drinks.

"K9!" Mickey said as he bent down to look under the table, "My main man! How's it going hey buddy?"

"Affection noted Master Mickey", K9 replied as he lifted his head up from the Phaal, "It is pleasing to see you again too. Now if you would be so kind as to leave me alone, I'd like to get back to my curry".

"I'd do as he says", the Doctor warned Mickey as he pulled some strange looking glasses out from cupboards in the TARDIS part of the kitchen. "Sarah says he gets very protective over it", the Doctor said as he grinned slightly, "And you know what K9 does when he gets protective over something".

Mickey stood back up from under the table and dropped his hands to cover a certain part of his anatomy. He remembered what K9 did when he was protecting Sarah Jane from the Krillitanes and did not want to see what he would do with his laser when protecting his curry. Jack gave a jolly laugh as he patted Mickey on the back and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't worry", Jack smiled, "I think you are more likely to get hurt by Sarah Jane standing up for her kids than K9 standing guard over a curry".

"Yeah", Clyde laughed as he joined in, "But lucky for you, with the TARDIS's state of 'temporal grace' thingy, Sarah Jane's laser eyes don't work".

"Hush you", Sarah grinned as she threw the nearest tea towel at Clyde, "Now sit down and eat before it goes cold".

* * *

Sarah Jane emerged from her room the next morning with a banging headache. She shielded her eyes as she walked along the sunbathed landing to the top of the stairs. Just as she was about to place her foot on the first step down, a shriek from one of the spare bedrooms caused her to wince in pain. This shriek was closely followed by a bang as the seven year old Martha ran from the spare room corridor and straight down the stairs.

Sarah rubbed her head as she followed Martha down the stairs, just not as quickly. Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she glanced at the clock on the phone table and groaned at the time: nine in the morning.

As she walked through into the kitchen, it seemed that only she and Martha were currently awake. Although that had probably changed by now after Martha's scream. Said seven year old was currently sitting at Sarah's kitchen table pulling faces at the vast number of empty glasses and bottles that had once held very high strength alcohol.

"Morning", Sarah said to Martha through a sleepy yawn as she reached for the aspirin from the cupboard, "You want some?"

"Please", the little voice came from Martha, "M' sorry for waking you".

"Was already awake", Sarah told her, reaching up to a shelf to get two small glasses. She then turned to her bottle and empty curry box filled sink and topped them both up with water before passing one to Martha and placing the aspirin packet on the table. "It seems that our gained tolerance of alcohol as adults is not carried forward to us when we are this age", Sarah laughed after taking one of the pills, "Don't want to imagine what it must feel like as a seven year old".

"S'not nice", Martha moaned as she rubbed her head, "Mickey is even more of a lightweight than me. I don't want to know how 'e feels".

"Mmm", Sarah agreed as she held her head in her hands. Looking up, she furrowed her brow at Martha confused, "Why did you scream".

"Mickey", Martha sighed, "Happens every day. I wake up, see 'im, scream cos he is a boy and run away. But last night... I had the totally opposite feelings".

"I know", Sarah laughed in agreement at the little girl's confusion, "I, like this, am obsessed by a certain teenage boy, but then as an adult like last night I was completely repulsed by the idea and was falling for the Doctor and Jack like normal".

"Don't let Jack hear that", a deep voice said from the kitchen doorway. Turning their heads, Martha and Sarah were greeted by the Doctor's third incarnation still in his pyjamas and wrapped up in a big blue dressing-gown. He ran a hand through his messy shock of white hair as he sat down next to Sarah. "Now then, about that attraction issue you lot are having", he said as he folded his arms and leant onto the table, "I imagine I don't need to tell you that it is to do with the different mindsets of the different ages you are going through".

"I think we gathered that for ourselves, thanks Doctor", Sarah smiled at him.

"Okay, let's see", the Doctor started as he pulled a pen and pad of paper out from one of his pockets. He started scribbling notes down before looking up at his two companions. "Right, so at these ages, Martha is repulsed by Mickey and Sarah has teenage girl feelings for Maxx I'm guessing, yes?"

Both girls nodded. "Now, when you Martha are twelve, any twinges for Mickey?" he continued.

"Not really", Martha shook her head, "But I don't think he's gross".

"And Sarah, what about when you are twenty-five?" he turned to face Sarah, "Your feelings on Maxx or other persons?"

Sarah took in a deep breath and looked down at her hands in her lap. "I was in love with you", she told him quietly.

"Quite right too" he smiled as he tapped her on the nose, "So then I'm guessing when you're then seventeen Martha that you have all the teenage feelings for Mickey".

"Yes", Martha replied.

"And Sarah Jane, when you are forty..." he stopped there as through Sarah's hung over gaze, he could tell he was hitting a sensitive topic for her. Taking a deep breath, he then rubbed his eyes again and tried to blink himself awake. His gaze was averted to the sticky alcohol and playing card covered table in front of him and his eyes widened at the aspirin and he sat back in his chair. "Ah, Sarah... Do you um, mind, uh, removing the Aspirin? You know what it does to Time Lords..."

"I remember", Sarah replied as she groggily reached out to grab the box and stuffed them into her dressing gown pocket, "There's Calpol in the cupboard by the fridge".

The Doctor gave a smile of thanks and he pushed himself upwards and slowly walked over in the direction of Sarah's fridge – which now happened to be covered in rude words that Jack, Ianto, Mickey and the Doctor had spelt out with Luke's alphabet magnets Clyde had bought him when he first started teaching him slang.

Martha gave Sarah a puzzled look. "Why's he afraid of Aspirin?"

Sarah furrowed her brow as she rubbed her eyes through the mild nauseous feeling that was passing her over. "Time Lords are highly allergic to it or something", she replied through closed eyes, "Can stop their hearts or something like that. Thought that was in the UNIT notes Harry had passed down to you?"

"I didn't get all of them", Martha shrugged, "Most of 'em are 'is private notes, and they are classified, so I wouldn't be able to see 'em unless I really needed to. But it's nice of you to tell me, Doctor".

"Eh, what?" the Doctor perked up from the other side of the room at hearing his name.

"Never mind", Sarah giggled, "Go back to drinking that bottle of liquid sugar".

* * *

**AN: **This is to show you all that I have not – repeat – have not given up on this. I know I said that this would have been updated within a week 2... no 3... 10 months ago... so nearly a year. I'm sorry. Don't kill me guys.

I've had 80% of this sitting on my laptop for the best part of the last ten months or so, but life has gotten in the way. I have moved cities, I am coping with Uni work, and all life's other little nasties so be glad for this. I have three weeks left – 3 WEEKS – and then this project will be eating away my life once again. Promise.

So until the next update, whenever that may be:

Stitch out!


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